Tow Truck Struck by Train - 05.11.23 (GA)

[TowForce]

 

A train collision with a truck in Warner Robins Wednesday damaged Watson Boulevard, closing a portion of the road until next week, city officials said Thursday.

 

The portion of Watson at GA Highway 247 east of Second Street in Warner Robins will be closed until Tuesday after a Norfolk Southern train collided with a tow truck carrying another car at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to a statement from the Warner Robins Police Department.

 

Police chief Wayne Fisher said the driver of the truck was waiting on the train tracks to make a left turn onto Highway 247 when the crossing arms came down, trapping his vehicle on the tracks. The driver felt he could not move the truck and got out before the oncoming train collided with the wrecker.

 

Norfolk Southern will replace the traffic arms, which were broken in the wreck, in the coming days. The crash site was investigated and managed by police and Norfolk Southern officials. The city placed detour signs to redirect traffic from Watson Boulevard following the crash.

 

Fisher said the police department did not know what the train was carrying at the time of the wreck. Norfolk Southern spokesperson Connor Spielmaker said the train was traveling from Florida to Atlanta and carried “mixed freight.”

 

The crash is the second incident within a year at the same crossing location after a train derailed on the tracks at Watson Boulevard in July, though Wednesday’s wreck was not the fault of Norfolk Southern, Fisher said. The damage from that derailment was not fully repaired before Wednesday’s collision.

 

There was another derailment in 2019 that involved chemical spills, according to Telegraph archives.

 

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