Two trains collided in southeastern Wisconsin on Sunday night, causing cars to derail, injuring two people and spilling thousands of gallons of diesel oil that prompted the evacuation of dozens of homes, the Associated Press reported. After concerns over the flammability of the diesel and contamination from the spill were handled, residents were allowed to return to their homes Monday morning.
A Canadian National Railway Co. train headed for Illinois struck another freight train as it rolled through a small village in southeastern Wisconsin around 8:30 p.m. Sunday at a rail crossing in Slinger, which is about 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee, according to Patrick Waldron, a Canadian National spokesman. The crash derailed three engines and 10 railroads, Slinger Fire Chief Rick Hanke said.
An engineer and conductor on the Canadian National train were taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Waldron said Monday. After an onboard computer sensed something was wrong before the collision, the Wisconsin & Southern engineer applied the brakes, said WSR spokesman Ken Lucht. "There was an emergency situation prior to impact," Lucht said. Investigators will interview the crew members and inspect both trains to determine what specifically triggered the sensor, he added.
Due to concerns that about 5,000 gallons of diesel spilled from a locomotive's fuel tank could catch fire, some 100 residents within a half-mile radius were evacuated from their homes as a precaution, Hanke said, adding that they were allowed to return around 1:30 a.m. Monday, NBC Chicago reported. Hazardous materials crews placed booms around the spilled fuel and crews worked to upright the derailed cars Monday morning.
Canadian National Railway Co. spokesman Patrick Waldron said Monday three southbound Canadian National locomotives and three cars carrying frac sand derailed and struck cars from Wisconsin & Southern that were carrying steel, lumber and plastic pellets. Some of the lumber spilled, Hanke said.
