Train runs into fertilizer truck stalled on track

Overton, Neb.-Authorities say a tractor/truck collision with a Union Pacific train on a downtown crossing could have been prevented with a telephone call. They are still investigating the May 16 incident involving a 1980 Kenworth truck pulling a trailer with 4,500 gallons of liquid fertilizer in two tanks that became high-centered on the only in-town rail crossing. There were no injuries because the driver got out of the way before the 49-car eastbound auto train crashed into the truck, sending one of the tanks to the north side of the tracks and carrying the other a half mile away attached to the front of the engine. Dawson County Emergency Management Director Brian Woldt told Green Markets it would have been a simple thing for the driver to call 911 or the Union Pacific number posted on a nearby sign to get help halting the train. As a result, approximately 3,000 gallons of the 10-34-0 fertilizer were spread over the accident scene, on the engine and the train, and down the track as an aftermath of the collision. Union Pacific spokesman James said this type of accident is rare, but that anyone involved like this “should get off the tracks and call the local authorities so we can alert the trains.” He said UP sent an environmental team to the scene to monitor the situation and cleanup the fertilizer.