Semi truck collides with Sounder train at Edmonds crossing
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EDMONDS, Wash. -- A semi truck was damaged when it collided with a Sounder train near the Edmonds station Tuesday morning.
No one was hurt, fire officials said.
Police said the semi truck driver's GPS system guided him the wrong way through town. When he reached the train crossing, he tried to back up, but then the crossing gates came down between the tractor and the trailer, leaving the driver with nowhere to go.
The train conductor hit the brakes, and investigators estimate the impact between 25 and 30 miles-per-hour. A couple of inches more and it could have been disastrous as the train barely missed the truck's fuel tank.
"It could have been a 40-mile per hour collision," said Sgt. Mike Blackburn with Edmonds Police. "We are fortunate there were a number of people onboard that Sounder this morning."
Everyone on the train was put on buses to get to work. Police say the semi truck driver could be ticketed.
As for the Sounder, there was only minor damage and afternoon service is expected to be as scheduled.
No one was hurt, fire officials said.
Police said the semi truck driver's GPS system guided him the wrong way through town. When he reached the train crossing, he tried to back up, but then the crossing gates came down between the tractor and the trailer, leaving the driver with nowhere to go.
The train conductor hit the brakes, and investigators estimate the impact between 25 and 30 miles-per-hour. A couple of inches more and it could have been disastrous as the train barely missed the truck's fuel tank.
"It could have been a 40-mile per hour collision," said Sgt. Mike Blackburn with Edmonds Police. "We are fortunate there were a number of people onboard that Sounder this morning."
Everyone on the train was put on buses to get to work. Police say the semi truck driver could be ticketed.
As for the Sounder, there was only minor damage and afternoon service is expected to be as scheduled.
Here's an idea, maybe not BACK A SEMI ACROSS A RAILROAD TRACK? Here's another. When the gate comes down and you are attempting to get out of harms way RUN OVER THE GATE. It might scratch your paint, but you won't be hit by a train, and you probably won't break the gate. They are spring loaded for this very reason.
Stopping on train tracks. Smooth move ex-lax! Now go get an office job Dummy.
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 @the unvarnished truth www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=392.11  Â
 @the unvarnished truth And why was he backing? Oh I know, because there wasn't enough room for his whole truck on the other side of the tracks. So he stopped! Then when the lights came on, the bells started to ring and the arm started to come down is when is started to back up. The driver won't sue because he will be cited for stopping on the tracks. Do us a favor and mail your license back to the DOL.
More bad truck drivers. With the huge shortage of truckers I guess we'll be seeing a lot more empty-heads driving these big-rigs around. America needs to re-build it's rail network and reduce as much of the trucking as possible. It doesn't make sense to do as much commercial trucking as we do and mix it with non-commercial traffic.
Saw a news video, the guy could hardly speak english. Wonder if he can even read english. Drivers need to throw away those GPS units. They're useless for truck drivers. Go back to the good old fashion maps. Also a lot of times these big trucks are going places they  shouldn't be going. Better laws need to be written to keep the big 53 feet trailers out of some of these bad areas. Just deliver to warehouses designed for truck traffic. @NorthwestEconomist
 @Blindman  @NorthwestEconomist This is distressingly reminiscent of the driver of the charter bus carrying a load of high school students to ski school a year or so ago who drove under one of the pedestrian overpasses in the Arboretum because he was staring at the damn GPS instead of using that ancient navigational technique called "looking through the windshield". The entire top of the bus was sheared off like someone opening a giant anchovy can.  Fortunately all the kids were in their seats--anyone standing would have been decapitated.
"A couple of inches more and it could have been disastrous as the train barely missed the truck's fuel tank."
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Who writes this crappola?Â
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It's very obvious from your own pictures, KOMO, that the collision was nowhere near the gas tank. Certainly not "inches" away.Â
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My lord...
It's diesel anyway. Not like the tanks are going to explode! But, having the fuel run into the water right by a popular scuba diving place probably wouldn't have been very good.
@caphillkid Looks like the collision was fairly close to the gas tank. Not inches away, but it looks like only a foot or two in one of the pictures.
He might of been able to back up. The crossing guard is easily broken. The problem is there could be another vehicle right behind you and you wouldn't be able to see it. Still better than getting hit by a train though.
Not if you're in the car behind having a semi smoosh you.Â
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It's all perspective though. The law of gross tonnage always wins!
Missed the truck's fuel tanks by a "couple inches" The tanks are located below and behind the cab. The cab is intact as is the frame, radiator, engine and front suspension. The truck would have had to been a good 5-6 FEET further forward to put the truck fuel tanks in a position where the train could have hit one of the tanks.
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It was the fuel tanks on the Sounder that were close to being damaged. Maybe the article writer should have listened to the video before publishing the story.
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The driver could have easily kept going backwards even with the guard down between the truck and trailer. The lowered guard is not very strong and would have easily broken off.
@Veteran That is exactly what I was thinking - those crossing arms would not have stopped the truck if the driver really wanted to back up. Even the cars behind him wouldn't have stopped him if he'd been determined to get off the tracks.
"Police said the semi truck driver's GPS system guided him the wrong way through town..."
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So when's the lawsuit against the GPS manufacturer?
@TheTruncheon It's coming.
 @alildifferent LOL Yep...
"There is no word yet what led up to the crash". I am going to do some simple math and bet it was inattention by the truck driver. Last time I checked, the trains do not have to stop at crossings and look both ways. Then again, I will give the truck driver the benefit of the doubt, and consider possible mechanical malfunction.
What an idiot.  I hope the driver is never allowed to drive a truck again. There is no excuse for this.
Enormous pressure on drivers to keep appointments. Not many understand that  appointments are meaningless if the freight doesn't get there in one piece. Ignore the appointments and just do the best you can.
There's a big reason why Operation Lifesaver says to "Look, listen & live." I think it might be safe to say that at least one of these wasn't followed.
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Gambling your life and that of others just to save 5-10 minutes?
There is real value in hiring non-union drivers huh?
 @T_BONE_WALKER I wonder what the trucker's ethnicity is, and if he relies upon GPS because of it. I can imagine the horror of flooding US roads with Mexican truckers.
 @T_BONE_WALKER where does it say he was non union or union? well, we all know if it was union he would've been on his union break, right? and if he was non union he wouldn't have relied on GPS.
 @beetle73 "where does it say he was non union or union?"Â
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Its the first thing you see when you read the headline. Here I'll show you.
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""Semi truck collides with Sounder train at Edmonds crossing""
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Right there, that will summarize it for you I hope.
Weird, two vehicle accidents with Amtrak and Sounder in less than 24hrs...geesh...
Dumb@ss
 @Marty McFly  @ss From what I witnessed, the lights came on as the driver was entering the intersection and the gate came down between the truck and his trailer. He tried to back up but the gate was now caught between the truck and trailer, he apparently tried to back up as far as possible but it wasn't enough. In talking with the passengers, they didn't even know that there had been an accident. The train engine disconnected from the train cars when it hit the bumper. No one was hurt thankfully. Happened right as the ferry was starting to unload. I knbow haters gotta hate but the truck driver just got caught by the gate.Â
I had that happen to me in Pendleton. I was driving a tanker and had to stop before crossing the tracks. No train in sight. Started across and the lights came on and the arm went down between my tractor and trailer. WTH? Panic a little, but still didn't see any train thank God. Then the arm went up and the lights went out. In the Edmonds case, there was probably a car behind him so he couldn't back up. I imagine he was going slow across the tracks in the ferry traffic. The arm came down, he couldnt back up or go forward with the traffic and the train came. Break the arm off if you can but if you can't move!!! It could happen.
 @dacaptain would you rather get the front end of your truck ripped off by a train or dent in a cars hood?? if that was me i would have backed up out of the way, rather hit a car instead of a train
@Marty McFly My thoughts exactly.
Hope the semi truck driver /company has good insurance. Not too bright of the driver!Â
Is it really that difficult to stop & look both ways when you pull up to train tracks, before you cross? Yeah, you're likely to get honked at by the impatient twat behind you, but those 5 seconds can save lives &/or increased insurance premiums.Â
 @Shelly You don't need to - there are flashing lights, dinging bells, and a physical barrier. Most of these are due to people stopping on the tracks due to traffic lights, despite the big signs saying not to do that, and being unable to move in time.
Wow. Two train wrecks in 24 hours. Must be Al Queda.
Of course it's sarcasm!
 @HonkeyCatÂ
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Did you forget your sarcasm tag? Or are you serious......
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Honestly I think its just people being idiots again, but hey, what do I know?
 @yentaleh  @HonkeyCat Idiots on wet pavement. Its not like the train changed direction, or is hard to see....