A freight train slammed into a semi-truck that was stuck in its rail tracks on Wednesday. The high-impact collision derailed the train, causing the death of 2 people and leaving three others injured after the huge dust it created settled.
The accident happened in Pecos in West Texas at about 5pm at a railway crossing near U.S. Highway 285 and Dot Stafford Street. Camera footage from motorist at the scene recorded the moment the train crashed into the tractor-trailer which was carrying lithium ion batteries and airbags. Luckily, the hazardous materials were contained.
Video below:
The two people killed were Union Pacific workers on the ground. The police reported that the injuries sustained by the survivors were minor. The injured were people in a Chamber of Commerce building that was hit when the train derailed.
The crash is currently being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, and the damaged building has been cordoned off and will remain so until it is deemed fit for entry.
Animals, objects such as vehicles and aircraft, and even humans, sometimes get in the way of moving trains mistakenly or by sheer ignorance.
In January 2022, an injured pilot was heroically saved by police officers when his plane crash-landed and stopped on a rail track. The pilot was pulled out seconds before a fast-approaching train slammed the small aircraft away.
In the case of Nini Lomidze in Tbilisi, Georgia, the lady purposely came close to the tracks to take a “perfectly timed” photo/video of herself as the train passed so close to her. Unfortunately, she was knocked away.