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North Carolina Train Derailment Accident Injures at Least 10

At least 10 people were injured in a North Carolina train accident involving a tractor-trailer that got stuck on the train tracks at a Mebane crossing. The Amtrak train was headed for Charlotte this morning when it collided with the large truck between Raleigh and Greensboro and became derailed.

The train was carrying 1,900 gallons of fuel and hazardous materials. A team from Norfolk Southern had to come out to the train derailment sight to contain about 500 gallons diesel fuel that had leaked out of the locomotive, which, along with a train car, caught on fire. Meantime, the train accident victims were treated transported to local hospitals.

This is not the first train accident to occur at this particular crossing. Six previous North Carolina train accidents going back to 1978 have take place at site of today's crash.

Also, it was less than two months in that another Amtrak train was involved in a Charlotte, North Carolina train crash with a tractor-trailer that had gotten stuck on the tracks. 118 people were riding the train when it collided with the semi-truck, which was transporting luxury vehicles. No serious injuries were reported.

Some reasons why a vehicle might get stuck on a train track:

? Mechanical problems
? Panic on the driver's part
? Vehicle is physically stuck on the tracks
? Railroad crossing arm malfunction
? Vehicle is stopped on the tracks while caught in slowed or stopped traffic
? Train malfunction
? Human error

Just last month, a woman was killed in an Illinois train accident involving an Amtrak train because the warning system failed to let her know that the train was arriving.

Amtrak Train Crashes Into Truck, Derails in North Carolina, MyFox8, May 13, 2010

Charlotte-bound Amtrak train hits truck, Charlotte Observer, May 13, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Amtrak

Train Accidents, Justia

Full post as published by North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog on May 14, 2010 (boomark / email).