Federal investigation launched in train and tanker truck crash
The Federal Railroad Administration has begun an investigation into the crash Tuesday involving a train and a tanker truck at a crossing near Fredericktown.
The division of the U.S. Department of Transportation sent an investigator to the scene of the crash that injured two Norfolk Southern employees and a trucker working for Kuhnle Brothers of Newbury, Ohio, FRA spokesman Patrice Legrand confirmed Wednesday.
Cleanup crews also returned Wednesday to the crossing at Maple Glenn Road and Route 88 in Centerville Borough, where 4,400 gallons of a solution, 36 percent of which was hydrochloric acid, leaked following the 10:30 a.m. crash.
The spill did not reach the nearby Monongahela River, said Lauren Fraley, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The trucker was undergoing surgery Wednesday for the injuries he suffered in the crash, an owner of Kuhnle said.
He said the accident remained under investigation Wednesday.
“We’re just concerned about our employee and anyone else who was injured,” said the owner, who declined to identify himself.
The two Norfolk Southern employees were released from a hospital Tuesday afternoon after being evaluated, company spokesman Jonathan Glass said. The three people injured in the accident were not identified by their employers.
Glass said the six residents who were evacuated from their homes on Maple Glenn began to return to them shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Neighbors complained Tuesday about their requests being ignored when they pressed for a crossing arm at Route 88 and Maple Glenn. They said there have been five or six accidents at the crossing. FRA data could not immediately confirm that.
Daniel Fulop, 74, was among the six people from the immediate area of the crash who were evacuated from their homes to East Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Co. in Fredericktown.
“If they had gates, this wouldn’t have happened,” Fulop said. “You can’t see the train if you’re coming down the hill to make a left-hand turn.”
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
truck cleanup
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Workers with Specialized Professional Services Inc. of Canton Township clean up hydrochloric acid from a truck that was hit by a train near Centerville.
Valerie Petersen, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, referred comment about crossing arms to Public Utility Commission spokesman Nils Hagen-Frederiksen, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Glass said Norfolk Southern brought in a company that specializes in hazardous material cleanup and remediation to secure the site. The cleanup crews vacuumed hydrochloric acid that was spilled on and around the tracks and removed what remained in the tanker trunk after the accident. They also placed lime on and around the track where spills occurred to neutralize the acid – a standard cleanup and remediation treatment for spills of hydrochloric acid.
Crews working for Norfolk Southern returned to the site Wednesday to do additional remediation work.
“This morning, the tanker truck was pulled away from the lead locomotive, and the locomotive will be cleaned and returned to service,” Glass said. Crews also will clean up the tanker truck’s tank, he added
Remediation crews will continue to monitor the site for at least the next several days and reapply lime as needed.
“Norfolk Southern appreciates the timely and professional response and assistance provided by local and state first responders and emergency management personnel,” Glass said.
The crossing takes traffic to Maple Glenn, the EQT Tuna 1 pump station and Forum Energy Technologies. The companies could not be reached for comment Wednesday.