Train Derailment In Du Quoin
Residents return home following train derailment.
DU QUOIN, IL – A Canadian National train derailed around 2:00 a.m. Wednesday morning near Du Quoin. Emergency officials say the Canadian National train was moving only about 10 miles an hour when four of its railcars left the tracks. One railcar was loaded with 92,000 pounds of sulfuric acid–a hazardous material. A Canadian National spokesperson says the contents did not spill but 250 people were evacuated as a precaution.
“It was 3:00 a.m., someone pounded on the door,” said Cecilia Lively. Denise Steinmetz also awoke to two men pounding on her door.
Perry County emergency officials ordered the evacuation of a half-mile radius in the small community of St. Johns–which is north of Du Quoin. The train wreck is located along highway 51 north of Cherry Lake Road and south of Sassafras Road. The railroad tracks run along highway 51.
In the early hours of the morning, dozens of evacuees began entering the Du Quoin American Legion Hall. The American Red Cross provided food and shelter as they waited to return home.
“I grabbed a pack of pictures of my grandbaby,” said Steinmetz, “it sounds silly, but I wanted these.”
Many evacuees arrived with only the clothes on their back, waiting to see what would happen next.
“We’ll just play it by ear, take it hour by hour,” said Sandy Webster of the American Red Cross.
Then, nearly 12 hours after the accident, the residents received the good news. A stretch of Highway 51, closed by the derailment, had re-opened and all 250 residents were allowed to return home.
Crews finished clearing the wreckage and David Searby of Du Quoin Emergency Services says none of the sulfuric acid leaked, and there were no injuries.
Facts about Sulfuric Acid:
–Toxic gas and vapor, colorless to dark-brown oily, odorless liquid.
–Used in fertilizer, petroleum refining,