Saturday, June 26, 1999
Cinergy truck hit by train in Butler
Two workers inside escape serious injury
BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP — A train struck a Cinergy Corp. truck Friday, but the two people in the truck were not seriously hurt.
The wreck happened about 11:30 a.m. at a CSX railroad grade crossing where Trenton Road and Riverside Drive meet.
At that crossing, only signs and pavement markings warn motorists; there are no flashing lights or gates.
The driver, identified as Todd W. Sprague, 31, of Hebron, Ky., was cited for failure to yield at a railroad crossing, said Butler County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Mike Craft. Mr. Sprague and his passenger, Mark E. Bricking of Highland Heights, Ky., were treated at Fort Hamilton Hospital and released.
Officials said both men were wearing seat belts. The truck had almost cleared the crossing when the train struck its rear driver's side. The impact knocked the truck on its side and pushed it 263 feet down the tracks.
Steve Brash, Cinergy spokesman, said company officials were conducting an internal investigation, but he expected both men would return to work as usual. He was unable to estimate the value of the truck they were driving.
Crews spent nearly four hours removing the wreckage from the tracks.
Statistics show train-vehicle crashes are more likely to occur at crossings that lack warning lights and gates. According to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, 56 percent of all crashes occurred at such crossings last year.
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