Amtrak Wolverine train #351 wrecked February 1st, 2012 at Leoni, Michigan. The accident occurred around 8:20AM that morning, when the train had collided with the trailer of a low-boy flatbed truck. The truck driver had driven on to the grade crossing, but stopped to check and make sure his trailer didn’t bottom out. He exited the cab of his truck to check, when suddenly, the railroad crossing gates started to close. The truck driver watched in horror as the train crushed the trailer, then crashed speedily into the ditch. Thankfully, there were no fatalities. However, six people were seriously injured. The truck driver, in my opinion, is not at fault. He did his job, and even went the extra mile to make sure he wouldn’t damage the grade crossing. If you have a differing opinion, please post a comment! I will upload a full version later.
The truck driver is at fault. It is incumbent on him to have apraised his equipment before entering the crossing; it is illegal to stop on a crossing in most cases, it is certainly unsafe and not smart to do so.
The truck driver is patently at fault for stopping on the crossing, and his insurance company will probably cancel his policy after they pay the damages to Amtrak, the medical bills of the injured passengers, and all the legal fees that are going to accrue.
“He excited the cab of his truck to check, when suddenly, the railroad crossing gates started to close.”
If I were a truck cab, I’d be excited about then, too…saying something like “C’mon, get me outta here!”
The line of thinking displayed in the original post, sarcastic or not, makes me wonder whether he thought the train should have gone into the ditch first, to avoid the truck. If a case is made of the fact that he abandoned his truck on the tracks, he could be charged with attempted murder.
I am familiar with the area. The truck must have been eastbound on Michigan Avenue (old US 12) then made a left to get back to I-94. A few miles west of there is a low clearance underpass that would have required the driver to lower his trailer.
Shame he didn’t have presence of mind to re inflate the trailer’s suspension.
A disaster to be sure, but thankfully no one was killed. We’ve had more than our share of collisions in Michigan lately.
Oh, yeah, there is a full staff of self insurance people, insurance people, lawyers and investigators. Self insurance goes into effect after the culprit’s insurance or whatever is paid. It is noting that is determined on the spot and can take years of wrangling. If your car is involved your car insurance company is involved…and so is the rest of your valuables, I’m sure.
The 34:56 video is very informative. They’re dropping pre-fabbed track early on, send the Amtrak train and its passengers on its way, and then they actually start re-railing the damaged cars using an amazing amount of equipment and personnel.
According to MLive, he was following his GPS, which told him to exit I-94 and take Portage to Page, which is south of where the collision occured. Obviously it wasn’t the best route to take for what he was driving/hauling.