NEWS - TRASH TRUCK DRIVER NOT SERIOUSLY INJURED AFTER COLLIDING WITH TRAIN

Trash truck driver not seriously injured after colliding with train 

 

A train has hit a trash truck near Dover. The driver of the truck has been flown to a hospital

DOVER — The driver of a trash truck apparently suffered only minor injuries when his truck was hit by a Union Pacific train Wednesday, south of Dover on the west side of U.S. 81.
Kingfisher County Sheriff Dennis Banther said the trash truck driver was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Oklahoma City after firefighters freed him about 9:45 a.m.
Kingfisher fire Lt. Garrick Yost, who assisted at the scene just north of the Cimarron River Bridge, said the driver of the truck was eastbound when he apparently failed to see the northbound train near a clump of trees. The train hit the truck on the passenger side. The driver was wearing his seat belt and was not seriously injured.
“Seat belts pretty much saved him,” Yost said. “He was very fortunate.” He was flown to a hospital as a precaution but only complained of minor injuries.
Raquel Espinoza, spokeswoman for Union Pacific Railroad, said the truck is from Waste Connections Inc. of Meno.
“According to the crew on the train, the driver never stopped,” Espinoza said.
The crossing has railroad crossing stop signs. The three Union Pacific crew members on the train were not injured.
“Fortunately this did not cause a derailment,” Espinoza said.
The train originated in Fort Worth, Texas, and was headed to North Platte, Neb., with mixed freight, Espinoza said.