Freight Trains Collide, Derail in Huge Fireball
Two freight trains slammed into each other Thursday, flinging cars into the air, a fireball into the midnight sky and thousands of gallons of flaming diesel fuel all around.
A crewman’s body was found near the wreckage of the two trains, which were pulling more than 80 cars each and traveling at least 40 m.p.h. when they collided head-on just outside this southwest Washington town. A second body was pulled from the cooling wreckage Thursday evening; three other crew members were unaccounted for.
“The train just started tumbling and flying straight up in the air. It was horrible, just horrible,” said Randy Pinson, who was northbound on Interstate 5 less than a quarter-mile away when the trains collided.
Some cars and other debris were thrown into the southbound lanes of the freeway and it was closed for several hours.
The accident’s cause was not immediately determined. The track has an automated electronic signal system that controls traffic.
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