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Train Hits Log Truck In Brewton, No Serious Injuries
April 13, 2012
There were no serious injuries reported in a train versus 18-wheeler crash Friday morning in Brewton, Ala.
A freight train collided with a log truck just after 9 a.m., sending logs and debris from a railroad crossing signal across Highway 31 in the downtown area. At least other seven other vehicles were involved in the crash as they were struck by logs and debris.
The log truck, according to door markings, was operated by Johnson Logging of Brantley, Ala.
Do you have more photos? Email them to news@northescambia.com
Pictured: A Friday morning wreck involving a train and log truck in downtown Brewton, Ala. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
37 Responses to “Train Hits Log Truck In Brewton, No Serious Injuries”
Have you ever stopped to think that the driver did not try to beat the train??? That the light for him to turn was green and there were no gates down??? Why do we always put the blame on people before we know all of the facts? That is what this country has come down to and it is so sad!!!
I think that any driver that gets caught trying to beat the train should have their lisences suspended or revoked for at least two years. Maybe then they’ll start to learn.
It’s against the law to park on the tracks and you should always stop and look both ways before crossing the tracks. Also,there are not any tracks in this area that are maintained enough for trains to run 70 mph, so to think that is just absurd. CSX in Brewton and Atmore run between 35 and 55 mph depending on what mile post the train is on,and the AGR that runs through Atmore runs between 10 and 20 mph also depending on the mile post. Also, if you can’t see or hear a TRAIN you don’t need to be operating a vehicle.
why is it this keep happen in brewton ……are the drivers crazy…you not going to win when you get hit by a train….and my words .. you can see down the track a mile and if you dont see that big train you dont need to be driving..stop pointing fingers… it is the drivers fault…..end of story.
I guess I should not complain about the trucks. They pay road taxes and feed
the driver’s family.
I do wish they would slow down.
If there were railheads, near the logging operations, logs could be delivered to end users, without having to use log trucks in populated areas.
It seems everytime I look in the rearview mirror, there is a log truck bearing down on me. It has gotten better since we now have the Department of Transportation
Cops, inspecting and ticketing the trucks. The 70s were terrible times, no safety.
I am glad there was no loss of life.
My wife is employed at Grede and saw the disruption that this accident caused. No trucks with product could leave Grede all afternoon, and she missed half of her work day as a result. This is one example of the associated costs involved with the poor decision of one person. If you cannot clear the crossing then don’t enter into it, is how I was always taught.
“RR crossing sign at that crossover and also railroad tracks are a pretty good indication that trains may be coming.”
Now that’s funny stuff right there!
I work right there at the corner of 31 & 41. I can testify that there is no way a train does 70 mph when coming through the intersection. The Horn sounds well before you see the train. Crossing lights flash, there are too many warning signs to miss the fact that a train is coming.
The driver did not want to wait on the train, he wanted to save 5 minutes. His actions not only ruined his day, but may have cost him his job.
He caused delays most of the population in Brewton and cost money to downtown businesses that did not have the usual traffic.
Not only that, other long distance truckers had to wait the whole day to get through that intersection to load up, costing them and their company countless dollars.
In essence his effort to save himself 5 minutes cost other people a tremendous amount of time and money. Why not hold the person responsible accountable for his actions?
Really “slowthetraindown”????? Apparently you are one that would choose to try and beat the train rather than stop otherwise you would know how long you have to sit and wait while the train passes by. It takes awhile because the trains are moving very slow. And the curve they are “flying” around is a long distance from the crossing. And considering how many trucks cross there everyday the percentage of the ones pulling into the path of a train is very very low. And in case you did not notice (just like this truck driver did not notice) there is a RR crossing sign at that crossover and also railroad tracks are a pretty good indication that trains may be coming.
CSX or any other railroad is not responsible for the gates. Who ever owns the road is responible to pay for lights, signs, or gates. CSX only installs what is paid for. Also everbody always wants to sue the railroad for train vs car accidents, but I have never seen a train jump the tracks and run into a car.
I would pay money to see that train run at 70 mph as it goes through Brewton. Even the CSX that leaves Atmore doesn’t do more than about 50, because I travel that way every day and can pace it with my vehicle. Again, like many things in life, the driver made a poor decision
Oops there goes another one, guess I spoke to soon in the other post.
I’m glad this didn’t kill anyone and every one seems to be OK.
Some of the posters must not have been very attentive in school.
STOP, LOOK and LISTEN…… if they won’t obey that… well I doubt
lights, arms or anything else will stop them. You all know how
many times we see the lights go on, the arms come down
and YET THERE THEY GO WEAVING THEIR CARS OR TRUCKS
AROUND THEM.
@sunny gurl……you said a mouthful gurl.
We ALL need to OBEY the LAWS they are written to protect
ALL of us!
to slowthetraindown: you are wrong on every count. the accident occurred in downtown brewton, not at the mill. the line of sight at the crossing is completely free of obstacles. there are no curves on the railroad through downtown. by law, freight trains can not exceed 59 miles per hour, many are limited to less than that, imposed by CSX. I’m amazed at your stupidity. learn the facts so you won’t be caught in a lie.
by the way, i’ve never worked for any railroad company so you too can learn facts of the industry.
Okay, 1) it happened at the main drag and not the mill, 2) unless you are the Lord God almighty, you have no room to judge anyone, 3) I agree that log truck drivers do tend to drive way too fast and hog the road, etc., and i have a personal crappy opinion about that even though some of my relatives drive them ( and thats a scary thought) but this guy is an older man and a real gentleman. Chances are he just had a moment of poor decision making which he will deal with enough about without a bunch of criticism. I say to everyone, please don’t hurt anyone with any rude or mean comments. Its like “bullying” in high school and certainly you are all adults. This man will beat himself up enough without all of you doing it and we should be thankful that no one was hurt and using our time to thank God above for that. I’m sure some nucklehead(s) will turn their attention to me now and to that I say, who cares, at least you won’t be hurting someone else if your attention is elsewhere.
Well there is several ways to look at this…It may be the trucks fault ,BUT (1) there is not very good visability where you have to turn into the mill. (2) There are NO lights that tell when the train is comming thru (3) and last but not least…. that train is probablly running 70mph when it comes around that curve.
Please no name calling. A few drivers give the rest a bad name. As long as the drivers (log/dirt/gravel) are paid by the load they are going to push the limits.
LOGERS ALREADY THINK THEY OWN THE HIGHWAY,THEY R SO RUDE THEY KNOW THAT NORMAL CARS AND TRUCKS ARE NO MATCH FOR THEM THEY PULL OUT IN FRONT OF YA AND HOG THE ROAD… NOW I GUESS THEY OWN THE R R TRACKS AS WELL. I GUESS THE TRAIN WON THIS ONE GLAD NO ON WAS HURT (THIS TIME ), I THINK LOG TRUCKS SHOULD HAVE LIMITED HRS ON THE ROAD .OR BAN THEM ALTOGATHER. JUST SAY’EN SEND THE LOGS TO THE MILL BY THE RIVER SAVE OUR ROADS AND LIFES.
The reason gates and lights are put up is because trains have the right of way and always will. Next thing you know he’ll probably try to sue the RR, but he won’t get anything out of it but a lost case, because two wrongs don’t make a right.
Michelle sounds like some in our government, blame everything on anything but the problem.
In this case POOR DRIVING!
Glad no one was seriously injured.
Why do they always say “a train hit….” ? Trains don’t jump off their tracks and run people over. And don’t call it an accident either. This was caused by a man having a stupid thought, and lost.
Quit trying to appeal to bleeding hearts. Plain and simply one word “Idiot”.
Just think how sickening the train engineers feel when they see these idiots and knowing they can’t stop these huge trains in time. And the outcome may involve deaths. who ends up getting the blame?
a idiot truck driver is the reason my parents coulda got more hurt in this accidnet than they did!! I’m not even 18 yet and if they total my carfrom this mess I would be gone through 2 vehicles since my dad got me my first one when I was 14. this angers me alot that people can’t have nice things cause other people want to be stupid!!! this man is lucky Noone got hurt anymore than they did!!
I thought they had crossing gaurds at the 31 & 41 junction. Well, I am glad no one was hurt real bad. Huh I think the Driver should really rethink if he wants to be a truck driver. I have drove all over the USA and never once did I place myself in that poistion of stopping on a RR track. COMMON SENSE DRIVER’S, USE IT….
I vote Overpass! Train accidents, Floods, and other major accidents put the people in East Brewton in a pickle! If there is an emergency that requires immediate action Driving to Jay hospital seems like an eternity. A few extra minutes could mean the difference between life and death. Rising Gas Prices makes a detour around Jay and Flomaton not so cheap!
CSX or what ever railroad owns the tracks is responsible for the crossing lights and arms, your local governments are only responsible for the RR crossing sign (the round yellow one) No one is even allowed to work within the railroads right of ways with out a permit, it is a federal offense.
I think that we need a over pass because if there was an emergency across the track people would be in trouble .
Got to agree with trainman53 and disagree with Brian – all one has to do is look at different accidents of this type and see how many crossings had the arms and people still tried to beat the train or crossed in hopes the traffic on the other side would move fast enough for them to clear the tracks before the train got there.
The only method to keep this from happening is if the roadway folded up like a drawbridge every time a train was coming – and someone would still fall off that.
Clearly this was a case of someone thiniking they had to hurry to get something done when now it will take their company all day and inconvenience a lot of other people. Not to mention all the damaged vehicles and railway signal lights, the power poles and such. Glad no one was injured.
I thought everyone knew not to park on the tracks train or no train coming.
CSX just drives the trains and toots the horns, your county or local government puts up the signals and signs for the intersections just like they do the speeding signs and stop signs. Since when has any government put something up before something happened to prevent a situation. It always takes a death or two to finally open some closed eyed closed pocketed official to finally do something about it.
Brian, sorry but your idea hold no water! The gates activate the same time as the lights, with is 20 seconds before the engine reaches the crossing. If traffic is “stuck” on the track, the gates serve no purpose. Read your Alabama DOT book! It is illegal to park on the tracks. If Brewton Police would enforce that law, maybe people would stop parking on the track regardless of the traffic signal! CSX owns the property their trains are built on, we simply ask for permission to cross it. The responsibility is completely on drivers to avoid trains! After all, there are 9 different warnings telling drivers of an approaching train: Train horn, bell, head lights, flashing ditch lights, crossing lights, bell at the crossing, RR signage on the road way, cross buckle signs and 300 feet from the crossing, a bright orange RR sign. What more do we need?? Remember, usually if you tie, you die when it comes to trains verses vehicles.
Me and my boys had an angel riding with us….we came within seconds on logs landing on us. If my 4 year old wouldn’t of started screaming I would probably of never moved. Hope everyone who wasn’t able to move is ok.
CSX does not have anything to do with the crossing signs or signals. that is with you local government that puts those up. It cost a lot of money to put signals up so the lovely government would rather by a 5,000$ hammer instead.
How long will it take before CSX puts in crossing arms at this intersection? This is a very busy intersection and not the first time there has been trains accidents at this intersection. Sure they have lights there, but that doesn’t help protect the people on the hwy stuck in traffic at the red light while other people are trying to beat the train. If there was crossing arms blocking the crossing then that should eliminate this problem and prevent future injuries or death. It seems like it wasn’t until the logs from another accident went into the First Exchange Bank in Brewton before we finally got crossing arm there and lights. Thank God this wasn’t worse this time then it could have been.
Again? Same place, same exact train from two years ago. Looks like CSX placed the gates up for nothing!! People will never learn
Imagine the improvements Brewton could make to their town if they sued every idiot that hit a train. Seems to be a pretty common thing happening there.
Think its about time we start getting these truck drivers some glasses, I can’t imagine how they never seem to see these flashing lights and TRAINS coming at them. Bet they’ve got a pretty little lawsuit or two coming at them full force now, hope he enjoyed his job while he had it! Glad everyones alright!
Here is one thing my dad told me when i started driving= Metal does not bleed, but u do. That just kinda stuck n my head for some reason.