CHARLES CITY COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Crews were out Tuesday afternoon cleaning up at a railroad crossing in Charles City County after a loaded log truck hit a coal train.
According to the Charles City County Sheriff’s Office, officers responded to the railroad crossing at Roxbury Road near Barnetts Road after receiving report of a crash at 1:10 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16.
According to Virginia State Police, it was determined that the truck’s brakes failed, causing it to collide with the CSX train. After the crash, the area surrounding the railroad crossing was filled with emergency vehicles, tow trucks and CSX workers.
“I was in my kitchen, just making some sweet tea,” said Megan Simpson, who lives in the area. “And my father-in-law all of a sudden yelled, ‘Oh, the train was hit.’”
Simpson said she immediately grabbed medical supplies and ran out to help the driver of the truck after hearing what happened.
“He ended up being fine, aside from some scrapes and some bruising,” Simpson said. “He was able to jump out of the truck before it hit, and he just kind of barrel rolled on the road, which I know it saved his life by doing that.”
No one on the train was injured and the driver walked away with only minor injuries, according to Charles City County Sheriff’s deputies at the scene.
“He refused treatment by [the paramedics]. So, I just continued doing all the medical treatment for the gentleman and yeah, he’s doing okay,” Simpson said.
According to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, there have been at least 10 crashes in the area around Tuesday’s crash site since 2020. This includes a 2022 crash involving a car and an Amtrak train that killed one person.
“This happens actually all the time here, all the time here. I don’t know why,” said Simpson. “Nobody has done anything about the hill or trying to slow vehicles down through here.”
According to state police, no coal was spilled from the train, but they expect cleanup to take “an extended amount of time.”
