Train strikes truck after driver tries to illegally cross
Published 12:10 am Wednesday, June 13, 2018
- A 2005 Ford truck is shown smashed after a collision with an Amtrak train Sunday in LaPlace.
LAPLACE — A Baton Rouge motorist caused a train collision Sunday afternoon when he unsuccessful tried to cross a closed crossing north of LaPlace, police said.
According to the St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office, the driver was able to exit the vehicle before the train hit, which took place at approximately 3 p.m.
The train was transporting more than 200 people in seven passenger cars. No one was injured.
Deputies responded to the wreck at Frenier Road and old U.S. 51 in Frenier, where officers learned a 2005 Ford truck was struck in a collision with an Amtrak train. The driver, a male from Baton Rouge, was attempting to travel over a closed Canadian National crossing when his truck got stuck on the inoperable crossing.
No injures were reported following the collision.
The driver was cited for criminal trespassing on private property.
About every three hours, a person or vehicle is hit by a train, according to Operation Lifesaver, a nonprofit public safety education and awareness organization dedicated to reducing collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-rail crossings and trespassing on or near railroad tracks.
