A train crashed into a trailer carrying a blade for a wind turbine that was stuck at a railroad crossing in Luling, Texas on Sunday.
A video posted to Twitter by a witness shows the tractor-trailer stuck in the middle of the crossing when the boom gates begin to drop onto the trailer. A driver scrambles into the cab of a lead truck and both trucks attempt to get out of the way of the oncoming train. As the trailer pulls forward, knocking over one of the railroad signs in the process, the train collides with the trailer, overturning the tractor in the process.
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What in the hell were these people thinking? Happened in Luling, Texas. pic.twitter.com/hSrN3LnO7v
— PermianLandman (@PermianLandman) August 30, 2021
Another video posted by a Facebook user shows the train colliding with the end of the trailer and dragging the turbine blade down the line while the train attempts to stop.
Police told KVUE Austin that the trailer split while the turbine blade damaged three unoccupied parking vehicles, the crossing sign, a utility pole and a nearby building. There was also significant damage to the two engines pulling the train, according to authorities. Union Pacific told KVUE Austin that the train operators were hospitalized, but no injuries were reported by police.
Repair crews on the scene were able to upright the truck, but the intersection remained closed for several hours while crews cleared the scene and new locomotives were brought in to replace the damaged ones, according to KVUE.
Union Pacific and local police are still investigating the cause of the crash.