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Heartbreaking moment a freight train crashes into a trailer stuck on the tracks in upstate New York after the driver escaped to safety
- Just 40 miles from New York City, a CSX freight train plowed into a truck, completely demolishing it around 9:30 a.m. in Haverstraw, New York, on Thursday.
- The conductor was able to get to safety before the train arrived less than five minutes later.
- The driver was delivering titanium tubes to a nearby factory when the heavy load scraped the tracks, causing the truck to get stuck.
This is the shocking moment a freight train crashed into a truck in New York, minutes after the driver escaped to safety.
Just 40 miles from New York City, a CSX freight train plowed into a truck, completely demolishing it around 9:30 a.m. in Haverstraw, New York, on Thursday.
An eyewitness video, posted online, shows the heart-stopping moment in which the couple collided.
The red and white striped railroad crossing gate was seen propped up on top of the trailer as it blocked the train tracks seconds before the accident.
The train, honking its horn several times, crashes into the trailer at full speed, dragging the entire semi around a telephone pole. When the trailer slammed into the side of the moving train, it collapsed, its vinyl siding peeling off as the interior structure collapsed, sending wood flying everywhere.
Additional images of the impact show the cab of the truck next to the railway with nothing but splintered wood behind it.
No injuries were reported from the accident.
Just 40 miles from New York City, a CSX freight train slammed into a truck (pictured), completely destroying it around 9:30 a.m. in Haverstraw, New York, on Thursday.
The conductor was able to reach safety before the train passed five minutes later.
Additional images of the impact show the cab of the truck next to the railway with nothing but splintered wood behind it.
The intersection at Route 9W and New Main Street has been closed for cleanup.
The truck was transporting titanium pipes to a nearby plant when it got stuck on the tracks. Haverstraw Police Capt. John Gould said CBS News that the load he was carrying was quite heavy, and right on the contour of the road, the box of the tractor-trailer got stuck.
‘It’s a bit scratchy [the tracks], which caused him to stop, and he was in the process of trying to find his way out. But unfortunately for him, the train arrived at that time.
A person in the neighborhood alerted the Haverstraw Police Department that the truck was stuck on the tracks and officers were able to inform the driver that a train was approaching.
The conductor was able to get to safety before the train arrived less than five minutes later.
The train, honking its horn several times, crashes into the trailer at full speed, dragging the entire semi around a telephone pole.
When the trailer slammed into the side of the moving train, it collapsed, its vinyl siding peeling off as the interior structure collapsed, sending wood flying everywhere.
Haverstraw is located 40 miles from the city, near the New Jersey border.
When DailyMail.com asked CSX why the train had not been ordered to stop, a company representative sent out an Operation Lifesaver flyer, reiterating: “Trains always have the right of way.”
Also, trains cannot be “quickly stopped or diverted,” according to Operation Lifesaver, a rail safety company. You can also take a train over a mile, or 18 football fields, to stop if you’re going over 55mph.
It is unclear how fast the train was traveling through Haverstraw.
‘Only trains belong on the tracks. It is illegal and dangerous for people to walk or get too close to the train tracks, which are private property,” OLI CEO Rachel Maleh said in the flyer.
“More than 60 percent of vehicle-train collisions occur at active railroad crossings with dipped lights or gates,” Operation Lifesaver said.
An investigation into the collision is ongoing.