Reuters reports that a garbage-filled dump truck trying to race across the tracks ahead of an Amtrak train this morning simply didn’t make it. Nor did the driver. Downeaster train 681, headed from Boston to Portland, Maine crashed in North Berwick at 11 a.m. Four of the train’s 112 passengers were injured.
“The truck caught fire soon after the impact,” said Maine State Police Public Information Officer Stephen McCausland. “Some of the passenger cars actually drove through the wall of flames.” The train even managed to continue down the track for half a mile before stopping. Ambulances and officials raced to the scene shortly thereafter. However, “the vast majority of the passengers onboard were unscathed, and those hurt are being treated for only minor injuries.”
And Tom Gorski, a witness who works in the area, told the Associated Press:
“It looked like somebody dropped a bomb,” witness Tom Gorski told the wire service. “The flames were shooting higher than a three-story house. It brings tears to your eyes.”
As for the truck driver, his family is presently being notified about his death.
[Reuters, Washington Post, Image Credit: Nomad_Soul/Shutterstock]
