Expert: Driver, trooper could have avoided train crash

March 10, 2015

RALEIGH, N.C. – A truck with an oversized load and a state trooper escort was stuck in a railroad crossing with time enough to alert approaching trains, but there’s no indication Amtrak was warned before a crash that injured 55 people, officials said.

An eyewitness told The Associated Press that the tractor-trailer — which stretched for 164 feet, longer than half a football field — spent about 8 minutes stuck on the railroad tracks. The State Highway Patrol said the trooper spent about 5 minutes trying to help clear the tracks.

Read the complete story at the Associated Press.