One person was hurt when an Amtrak train crashed into a tractor-trailer that was stopped on railroad tracks in Brunswick, Maryland, on Thursday and the tractor-trailer was forced into a truck, officials say.
Amtrak Capitol Limited Train 29 was headed from D.C. to Chicago at about 5:15 p.m. when the train hit a tractor-trailer hauling lumber, Amtrak and the Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services said.
None of the 142 passengers on board the train or any members of the crew were hurt, Amtrak said. The driver of the truck was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not believed to the life-threatening, the fire department said. A second person in the truck was not hurt.
Witnesses said the tractor-trailer was on the train tracks and stuck in traffic near the MARC station in Brunswick when the crossing bars began to close.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
“With nowhere to go due to the backup and no way for the train to stop, the back passenger side [of the tractor-trailer] was stuck, throwing it into the passenger truck and causing it to strike the building,” a statement by the fire department said.
The impact of the train hitting the tractor-trailer pushed the huge vehicle across both lanes of S. Maple Avenue.
Images from fire department show lumber reduced to splinters near the train tracks.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
S. Maple Avenue was closed for more than six hours as crews from 84 Lumber worked to clean up the mess and help a towing company remove the vehicles.
Amtrak is working with local law enforcement to investigate, the rail service said. They reminded drivers and pedestrians to use “extreme caution” around railroad tracks and crossings.
