22 injured after train hits stalled garbage truck
More than 20 passengers were treated for injuries and one train car derailed Monday after a Tri-Rail train hit a garbage truck that stalled on the tracks near the Lake Worth station, officials said.
The crash at the station near Sixth Avenue South, just off Interstate 95, was reported shortly after 6:45 a.m., according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.
A crane was brought in from Lakeland to move the derailed train. Because of the incident, Tri-Rail service was affected throughout the day, officials said.
Delays lasted through rush hour and into the evening on Monday.
Because of the crash on the tracks, buses were used all day to take passengers between the Lake Worth and Boynton Beach stations.
Trains headed as far north as Boynton Beach before turning south and were as far south as Lake Worth before heading north, said Bonnie Arnold, spokeswoman for the South Florida Regional Transit Authority.
Because of the incident, the northbound and southbound ramps to Sixth Avenue South were closed to motorists.
“We’re trying to clear it up as soon as
possible but this is going to take a while,” Arnold said Monday.
The trash truck was from the city of Lake Worth, the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office said.
The truck driver was not hurt.
Arnold said the track crossing signals and gates were working properly at the time of the crash.
According to Fire Rescue Captain Albert Borroto, 22 of the estimated 80 to 90 train passengers were taken to area hospitals to be treated for minor injuries.