SMITHTON, Pa. (AP) - A freight train ran into a derailed car of another
train in southwestern Pennsylvania on Sunday, and a total of 22 cars left the
tracks, including a tanker carrying a paint additive that ruptured.
No injuries were reported, and crews were able to contain paint additive
that spilled from the ruptured tanker.
A CSX Corp. train was heading west from New Castle to Chicago when it jumped
the track around 10 a.m. in Reduction, about 25 miles southeast of Pittsburgh,
said CSX spokesman Garrick Francis. About 11 cars left the tracks.
Then, an eastbound CSX train crashed into at least one of the derailed cars.
The impact derailed about 11 cars of the second train, which was traveling from
Willard, Ohio, to Cumberland, Md., he said.
The cars contained no hazardous materials, Francis said. Authorities had
been concerned that the paint additive leaking from one tanker might enter a
stream running parallel to the tracks, he said.
But CSX employees worked with local firefighters to contain the spill, and
state environmental officials were notified, Francis said. The site of the
accident will be monitored for environmental safety, he said.
"It was a general pileup," Francis said.
Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the initial derailment.
Both trains included mixed-freight cars. The westbound train had 94 cars and
the eastbound one had 69, according to Francis.
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