Truck driver killed after train collision in Cheswick
The driver of a tractor-trailer was killed when a train collided with his truck Thursday morning in Cheswick.
Allegheny County emergency officials said the crash was reported at 5:20 a.m. in the 1000 block of Pittsburgh Street at Blockdale Street.
Allegheny Valley Regional police said the Norfolk Southern train hit the tractor-trailer when the truck attempted to cross the train tracks.
Police Chief Michael Naviglia said there are no gates at the crossing on Blockdale Street and that it did not appear that the tractor-trailer was stuck on the tracks.
“We believe he made it across and then attempted to back up,” Chief Naviglia said.
County police said the truck was making a sharp turn onto the crossing.
The county medical examiner’s office identified the driver as David Nezekiah Howell, 55, of Easton, Northampton County.
Mr. Howell was pronounced dead at the scene.
The train was traveling under the speed limit and had met all protocols to signal it was approaching the truck, Chief Naviglia said.
The impact pushed the cab of the truck into a brick building near the Watercrest Business Park. The building was occupied at the time of the crash, but no one inside was injured.
The train, which appeared to be hauling coal, came to a stop about 100 feet past the impact.
James Kuchinski, a cashier at the Sunoco gas station on Cheswick Avenue across the street from the crash scene, said he pulled into work around 5:30 a.m. Thursday just as police began arriving.
“I had no idea what happened, but it looked pretty bad,” Mr. Kuchinski said. “I’m not sure if the truck got stuck [on the tracks] or he was trying to back up, but sadly, he didn’t make it in time.”