VERSAILLES — UPDATE @ 11:05 a.m. (March 4):
One of the Versailles railroad crossings damaged earlier this week in a crash between a semitrailer and train will remain closed through the weekend until repairs to the crossing can be made, according to a village spokesperson.
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North West Street crossing, which carries traffic for both state Route 47 and 185, and one of the main routes in Versailles, will stay closed until the repairs can be made, a village spokesperson said in a social media message.
CSX, which is leading the work on the repairs, hopes to have the crossing reopened by Monday.
“(CSX) are waiting for additional replacement parts for the crossing gates as well as installing a new signal control cabinet that operates the lights, bells, and gates. ODOT has been made aware of this continued closure and will leave the posted detour outside the village in place,” the spokesperson said.
The other three crossings at Center, Second, and Steffin streets have all been reopened and will remain open.
The crash happened Wednesday morning in the area of North Steffin Street and East Water Street after a semitrailer hauling lumber got stuck on the tracks. The driver was able to free the cab but the trailer remained on the tracks.
The train was traveling around 60 mph when it crashed into the trailer.
Additional details were not released.
FIRST REPORT (March 2):
Wednesday morning, a train slammed into a semi-trailer in Versailles, pushing it almost a mile down the tracks.
Thankfully and amazingly, no one was injured.
The damage from the crash will have lasting impacts on traffic in the area — state Route 185 and State Route 47 remained closed at the railroad crossings in Versailles until crews are able to repair the traffic signals at the crossings damaged in the crash, an ODOT spokesperson confirmed to News Center 7.
The roadways have since reopened.
Three men who witnessed the startling event shared what went through their minds as they saw the danger coming down the tracks.
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Dealing with trains is normal for employees at Worch Lumber, Jack Bohman said they usually see about a couple of them an hour.
But Wednesday morning, Jack and two other Worch Lumber employees saw something they had never seen before.
“It happened so fast,” witness John Broering told News Center 7′s Molly Koweek.
The three men were panicked after they saw a semi hauling lumber get stuck on the tracks as a CSX train approached.
Police said the semi-driver managed to unhook the cab, but he could not free the trailer.
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Devan Homan said by the time he got over to the tracks in an attempt to help, it was too late.
The gates were coming down and all Homan could do was watch.
Police said the train hit the semi going almost 60 miles an hour and pushed it down the tracks.
“All I can say is scary, really. I plugged my ears hoping not to hear it and felt it in my chest when the impact hit,” Broering said.
Broering said the next thing he knew the train was halfway down the tracks with a trailer underneath it. He said the driver of the semi is lucky he got out when he did.
The assistant village administrator said the train didn’t stop for three-quarters of a mile.
It left miles of a mess of splintered and shattered lumber.
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The assistant village administrator said that crews had to cut the trailer into three pieces, just to get it off the train.
While crews need to repair crossing lights, gates, and control cabinets at four intersections there is one thing Broering took away from the event.
“Everybody walked away, everybody deserves another day,” he said.
CSX says they are cooperating with Versailles police during their investigation of the crash.
News Center 7 is working to get footage from the crash and will update this story as we learn more.