NTSB investigates fatal accident after train hits truck at rail crossing

A Union Pacific Railroad train struck a Ford pickup truck at the South State Street grade crossing on the UP Belvidere Subdivision in Elgin, Illinois, the National Transportation Safety Board said this week in a preliminary report. The truck driver died in the Oct. 23 incident.

Inside the truck, which was towing a trailer, were the driver and two passengers. The vehicle and trailer were owned by Cornerstone Partners, a landscaping company. Both passengers were transported to hospitals with injuries. No other injuries were reported, according to the NTSB report.

At the time of the accident, the train was returning to UP’s Belvidere Yard after completing work in the railroad's Proviso and West Chicago yards. Based on event recorder data, the train approached the crossing traveling about 27 mph.

A review of the locomotive’s outward-facing image recorder showed highway traffic traversing the crossing in the seconds before the collision. The event and image recorders showed that the train’s whistle sounded for the first time and the crossing’s warning devices activated when the train was near the edge of the crossing.

The truck entered the crossing from the train’s right immediately before the collision and was struck while in motion. The train engineer applied the brakes shortly after impact and brought the train to a stop north of the crossing, according to the report.

The investigation is ongoing. Future investigative activity will focus on UP’s operating rules, policies and training along with the performance of the train detection technology used by the grade crossing’s warning systems.

The preliminary report can be viewed here.