A trucker turned into the path of a freight train in southern Minnesota, igniting an explosion of grain from his trailer and leaving the driver with minor injuries, officials said.
The collision occurred about 2:15 p.m. Friday northeast of Sleepy Eye on tracks running parallel to westbound Hwy. 14, the Brown County Sheriff’s Office said.
The impact put a big dent in the train engine’s nose, while the semi’s trailer was totaled, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The rural crossing with no visual obstructions is governed solely by stop signs. There are no crossing arms or clanging signal lights.
The Sheriff’s Office identified the trucker as Robert Thomas Jewett, 24, of New Richland, Minn. Two people, both from Madison Lake, Minn., were aboard the train: Jeffrey Alan Schafer, 56, and Thomas Herman Behsman, 57.
Dashcam video released by the Sheriff’s Office captured the semi traveling alongside the train before the driver turned right, passing a stop sign and continuing onto the tracks.
The train, comprised of an engine pulling five cars, hit the trailer dead-center. The trailer disappeared in the flash of grain it was hauling to its intended mill destination.
The trucker and the train personnel were treated at the scene for minor injuries, the Sheriff’s Office said.
