Trains derail in Salem accident

By Jon Moffett

Damage to both trains was minor, a railroad official said.

SALEM — An aborted suicide attempt caused a two-train accident here that backed up traffic throughout most of Thursday.

Police said many of the railroad crossings leading into the city were closed due to the accident.

Traffic was backed up as the railroad crossings at South Lincoln Avenue, Depot Road, New Garden Avenue and Pershing Street were all closed for a large portion of the day.

Only the West State Street crossing was open to traffic Thursday morning.

The crossings were open later Thursday, but Salem Police Chief Robert Floor said the New Garden crossing will be closed “for an extended period of time.”

Floor said officials from Norfolk-Southern worked on the site throughout the day to clear up the traffic situation.

According to reports, at least 20 cars were left leaning off the tracks Wednesday evening after a train bumped into a second that had stopped suddenly.

The engineer of the first train reported seeing a man lying on the tracks in a reputed suicide attempt, but the man was able to get off the tracks in time. The engineer attempted to stop quickly and was bumped from behind by a second train.

“There was a person on the track who initiated an emergency stop of the first train,” Floor said. “Another train behind it didn’t get the word or didn’t get it in time, which caused around 20 cars to become derailed.”

The cars remained on the tracks but were jarred from the rails.

No injuries have been reported, and Rudy Husband, an Ohio-area representative for Norfolk-Southern, said that damage to the trains was minor.