Thunderous blast as train, truck collide
A CSX freight train hauling chemicals struck a trash truck and derailed outside Baltimore on Tuesday, triggering an explosion that damaged industrial buildings, rattled homes a half-mile away and created a tower of smoke that could be seen for miles, officials and witnesses reported.
The driver of the truck — John Alban, 50, a retired Baltimore County firefighter — was hospitalized in serious but stable condition, the fire department said. Two crewmembers on the train were unhurt. The cause of the explosion is being investigated.
Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said no toxic inhalants were being released.
Robert Sumwalt of the National Transportation Safety Board said the accident occurred at a private crossing where the only marking was a stop sign. He said it wasn’t clear why the truck was crossing the tracks or whether it was authorized to be there.
The 45-car train was headed from Selkirk, N.Y., to Waycross, Ga. It derailed northeast of Baltimore, near an industrial park.
Baltimore County Fire Chief John Hohman said officials asked nearby residents to leave voluntarily but did not order a larger evacuation because there were no toxic inhalants burning.
“The evacuation would be much more significant if there were toxic chemicals,” Hohman said.
Amtrak said its Northeast Corridor service was not affected.
CSX spokesman Gary Sease said four cars carried terephthalic acid, which is used in the production of plastics, among other things. He said it is not a hazardous material.
Sease said one car carried sodium chlorate, but its fumes are not toxic. The chemical, classified as a hazardous material, is often used to bleach paper and as a herbicide.
Two warehouses were heavily damaged by the explosion and others were damaged. A major highway, U.S. 40, was shut down.
“It shook my house pretty violently and knocked things off the shelves,” said Dale Walston, who lives a half-mile from the site.
Earlier this month, more than 70 people were injured when a commuter train bound for New York City derailed at Bridgeport, Conn., and was struck by another train. In Missouri on Saturday, a cargo train crashed, injuring seven people and damaging a highway overpass.