Truck, CSX train collide in Howell Twp.

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Truck, CSX train collide in Howell Twp.

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Truck, train collide

By Susan Demas
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS


A crash between a tractor-trailer and freight train Wednesday night in Howell Township left the truck looking like a "heap of molten lava" and landed its driver in the hospital, authorities said.

The Howell Area Fire Authority and Michigan State Police responded to a call at about 7 p.m. regarding an accident at the Burkhart Road railroad crossing, north of Parsons Road and the Tanger Outlet Center at Kensington Valley, and south of Grand River Avenue.

Police are still investigating how the empty septic tanker collided with the CSX Transportation Inc. train, Howell Area Fire Authority Deputy Chief Andy Pless said.

The truck driver "got out on his own" and was taken via Livingston County EMS to a hospital, but Pless did not know what facility. The train's engineer was unhurt.

"There's not much damage to the train," Pless reported. "It was already able to back up" from the crash site.

The same couldn't be said for the semi, with its red cab smashed and front wheels scattered at the Burkhart railroad crossing.

A fire broke out in the truck's body due to the diesel fuel in its tank, which firefighters extinguished, Michigan State Police Trooper Tim Johnson said.

The trailer, which had been hauling human waste, was attached to the truck even after the train backed up southeast on the tracks, heading toward Parsons Road.

Barely recognizable, the tanker's remains were still smoking an almost two hours after the crash.

"After the semi was on fire, it looked like a heap of molten lava," Johnson said.

Burkhart Road was closed north of the outlet mall and south of the railroad tracks.

Pless said the road would be shut down until the fuel is cleaned up. The Livingston County Sheriff's Department helped direct traffic.

Though the smell of burning diesel fuel from the truck was thick in the air, there were no toxic chemicals on either the semi or the train, Pless said.

CSX, the company which owns the railroad, is responsible for cleaning up the spilled diesel fuel along the side of the tracks. Employees were onsite within two hours of the accident and had no comment.


http://www.hometownlife.com/Howell/News ... 12/23/2004

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