THP report: truck was ‘caught inside’ railroad crossing arms when stuck by train

From the Cleveland Daily Banner: A crash involving a pickup truck and a Norfolk Southern train in Charleston on Monday, Sept. 18, occurred when th

From the Cleveland Daily Banner: A crash involving a pickup truck and a Norfolk Southern train in Charleston on Monday, Sept. 18, occurred when the driver attempted to cross the tracks and was “caught inside the railroad crossing arms,” according to a preliminary report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The driver, Dilber Javier Franco Palacios, 46, of Honduras, was attempting to cross the tracks at Cass Street/Railroad Street in his 1995 Ford F-250 when the crash took place at approximately 2:52 p.m.

The THP report stated Palacios “could not get off the tracks in time and was struck by the train,” which was traveling north.

He was transported to an area hospital by Life Force.

According to media reports, Palacios’ sister said he has a “fracture in his knee, and a neck and head injury, but ‘is out of danger.’”

The train engineer was not injured, the THP said.