Only one person was transported to the hospital after an Amtrak train traveling through Miller County crashed into a loaded tractor trailer, tossing the cab to one side of the track and the trailer to the other.
The crash occurred on Miller County Road 64 at around 10:10 p.m. Thursday, March 25 as the driver of a Top Logistics truck hauling chicken feed was heading toward Highway 67. Based on statements of county officials on scene and the damage to the truck, the driver of the semi appeared to be attempting to beat the train. The driver said he didn’t want to speak to any media but told others that he was traveling too fast around the curve leading up to the tracks and wasn’t able to stop in time.
The train struck the rear axle of the semi and the front of the trailer. The impact tore the cab and trailer apart, leaving the cab on the north side of the track and the trailer on the south. The impact sent the rear axle of the truck, parts of the trailer and the crossing gate out between 100 and 300 feet from the location of the impact. The train did not derail and was able to come to a stop about ¼ mile past the crossing on Miller 64. The train took obvious cosmetic damage to the front of the engine, but it was unclear whether anything vital to operate was damaged.
The driver of the truck was able to get out of the cab of his truck, unharmed, after it was spun around and overturned along the track. One occupant on train was transported by LifeNet EMS to a Texarkana hospital. One county official said they thought the person transported was one of the crew members.
Several fire departments were dispatched to the scene along with Miller County Sheriff’s Deputies, LifeNet EMS and a Union Pacific Special Agent, who was the primary investigator of the crash.
