Train Hits Tractor-Trailer Stuck on Tracks Near Wilsonville

PHOTO: Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Larger View

(WILSONVILLE, Ore.) - A train owned by Portland and Western Railroad struck a tractor trailer truck that had become stuck on railroad tracks near Wilsonville this morning. No-one was injured.

TVF&R firefighters were dispatched to 11220 SW Tonquin Road at 1:43 a.m. after a neighbor reported hearing the crash. Firefighters from TVF&R's Wilsonville Station 56 arrived minutes later to find that a train had sheared off the back of a tractor trailer.

According to the driver of the truck, his vehicle stalled on the railroad tracks. Instead of calling 9-1-1, the driver called for a tow company to move him off of the tracks. The tow vehicle successfully hooked up to the truck and was in the process of towing the tractor trailer off of the tracks when a train collided with back of the trailer. The impact sheared off the last five feet of the trailer. Neither the personnel aboard the train nor the driver of the tow truck were injured.

"We'd like to remind the public that, if you ever become stuck on railroad tracks, you should call 9-1-1 first," says TVF&R Public Information Officer Brian Barker, "the 9-1-1 operator can contact the railroad quickly and, in many cases, ensure that something like this doesn't happen."

News Release from: Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue