‘I started noticing all the debris;’ Witness captures video of train derailment in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — One witness described the moment a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Springfield late Saturday afternoon.

>>PHOTOS: Drone footage shows train derailment near Clark County Fairgrounds

Shawn Heaton told News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson Saturday night he was sitting at the intersection of State Route 41 and Gateway Boulevard when the train was going by and then heard a loud bang. He started recorded video on his phone.

“When I looked up, all kinds of debris was shooting out underneath the train,” he said. “I started noticing all the debris and all the gravel. And after that, when the cars started coming off the track and get in a big pile, that’s when I just got out of there.”

>>Norfolk Southern train derails in Springfield; No hazardous materials ‘involved’

Heaton said when he started seeing the cars stacking up, he was afraid they were going to come off into the road.

“I was at the very front and the cars next to me were backing up, and everybody was just turning around,” he told Robertson. “Everybody was just turning around. I mean, it was just time to go.”

>>PHOTOS: Ground images of Springfield train derailment

Heaton said it looked like something something happened down by the wheels of the train.

“You could just see stuff flying everywhere,” he said to Robertson.

>>Power outages reported following train derailment in Clark County

Heaton is also without power following the train derailment in Springfield.

“All the power is out now,” he said. “And people around us are saying their power is out. So, I don’t know if they killed the power for some reason or what’s going on.”

Heaton tells Robertson he’s a little nervous living near a train line.

“Yeah, I am now,” he said. “It keeps happening near water and it keeps happening.”

We have multiple crews on scene and will continue to provide updates on the train derailment.

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Springfield Train Derailment Contributed Photo/iWitness7 Viewer

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Ohio Cargo Train Derailment Multiple cars of a Norfolk Southern train lie toppled after derailing at a train crossing with Ohio 41 in Clark County, Ohio, Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Bill Lackey/Springfield-News Sun via AP) (Bill Lackey)

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