SALEM Fuel spills as train hits truck

One person was injured in the accident.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- An eastbound freight train this morning struck a crane-truck that was apparently crossing a railroad track on South Ellsworth Avenue, just south of downtown Salem.
The wreck, which occurred about 9:40 a.m., sent hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel spilling from what appeared to be a hole torn in one of the locomotive's fuel tanks.
Officials were scrambling this morning to block the fuel from entering a creek which runs near the railroad.
At least one man was taken to Salem Community Hospital. A police officer said he believed the injured person was one of the train personnel.
The crane, which carried the logo Diamond Steel Construction Co. of Youngstown, came to rest just south of the tracks and sheared a utility pole. Lights in part of the city flickered after the accident.
The crane-truck was heavily damaged, the back half of the truck portion of the vehicle was ripped from the frame. The train was not derailed.
The three-locomotive train that struck the crane was stopped near the site of the accident but not derailed. At least two intersections were blocked by the train after the crash. The accident occurred in an industrial section of the city, away from most homes.
Another westbound train running on a set of parallel tracks was stopped just east of the accident site.
What happened
David Collins, president of Diamond Steel, explained what occurred. He said the crane-truck was heading south on South Ellsworth, had just crossed tracks and was turning into an adjacent industrial drive when the truck lost traction, weaving with about 10 feet of the crane boom extended over the track.
The crane-truck operators exited the vehicle and the foreman who was with the group ran down the track toward an approaching train. The foreman tried to warn the train operator. Collins said that the train did try to stop, but was unable to avoid colliding with the boom, which sent the crane-truck whirling about 180 degrees, crumpling it and shearing away a utility poll.
No one was in the crane-truck when it was hit.
"We did what we could," to avoid the accident, said Norm Griffith of Youngstown, who was the crane-truck operator.
"I was running for my life," Griffith said of his actions when he spotted the approaching train.