COLLEGEDALE, Tenn. — Two people were injured Tuesday when a train derailed after it collided with a tractor-trailer pulling a concrete bridge beam in East Tennessee, authorities said.
According to Hamilton County Office of Emergency Management spokesperson Amy Maxwell, a motorist alerted officials to the collision about 12:30 p.m. EST Tuesday in Collegedale east of Chattanooga, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.
Officials said two Norfolk Southern Railway employees were hospitalized and treated for minor injuries, according to WTVC. The driver of the truck was not injured, the television station reported.
Not even kidding! Don’t go into Collegedale this afternoon. #collegedale @newschannelnine pic.twitter.com/qtmEqmxbBy
— Little Lettuce (@sah2m) December 20, 2022
Maxwell said the big rig was hauling a beam that was 134 feet long, the Times Free Press reported. She added that the truck was trying to cross the tracks but could not clear them in time, according to WBIR-TV.
Fire officials said the driver of the tractor-trailer was stopped on the railroad tracks waiting for the light to turn green, when the Norfolk Southern railroad system activated its crossing arms, the Times Free Press reported.
“Three locomotives and 10 railroad cars derailed and slammed into each other, causing a disastrous mess,” Maxwell told reporters.
Norfolk Southern Train Derailment. Fire Officials reporting 3 locomotives and 16 cars. Two Norfolk employees sustained minor injuries. Details: https://t.co/zn8vZ1F5GF pic.twitter.com/Hzf3yj9e1r
— HamCoTNES (@HamCoTNES) December 20, 2022
In an email to the Times Free Press, Norfolk Southern spokesperson Connor Spielmaker said there have been no reports that any hazardous materials train cars were involved.
The crash happened near McKee Foods, where Little Debbie’s snack cakes are manufactured, WTVC reported.
Collegedale Police Department Assistant Chief Jamie Heath said he was stunned by the crash after reaching the scene.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Heath told the Times Free Press.
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