DATE: Monday, October 26, 2020
SUBJECT: Train Collides with Unoccupied Vehicle Saturday Morning
RELEASE NUMBER: 2020-NR-064
CONTACT: Colonel Noah Robinson
AUTHORITY: Sheriff Dave Wedding
On Saturday, October 24, 2020 at 6:08 AM the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a train crash involving a CSX engine off Roesner Road, north of Hogue Road.
An investigation revealed that a teenage driver had attempted to drive over the tracks, but the vehicle became stuck. The teenager abandoned the vehicle just before midnight the previous evening, but failed to notify CSX or the Sheriff’s Office.
Later the next morning the conductor of an eastbound train observed an unlit taillight reflection and performed an emergency stop. The train was pulling 114 cars and hauling over 16,000 tons of cargo. Despite only traveling 23 mph, the train was unable to stop in time and struck the vehicle.
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