In the second such incident today, another train has collided with another big rig near Hanford, California. ABC30 reports that the crashes were just 17 miles apart.
Some 40-50 people were injured in the first accident, that one with an Amtrak train.
In the second accident, a silage truck crashed into a freight train just east of Hanford, just 17 miles from the Amtrak accident scene. According to the California Highway Patrol and emergency medical services reports, the truck driver was airlifted to an area hospital after suffering a large cut to his head.
Authorities said the driver was crossing the tracks southbound when the San Joaquin Valley Railroad freight train it it, destroying the front end while missing the cab, knocking the truck sideways, said CHP Officer Bryan Savage.
“He’s lucky He basically had the front end of his truck over the tracks. If he had been a little bit more forward, it would have been a lot worse.”
Savage said the truck was only going about 15 miles per hour, while the train was also going slow, at about 20-30 miles per hour. The locomotive was slightly damaged. The truck had been delivering feed to a local family dairy.