NORTH SALT LAKE — Police are investigating why a semi-truck driver did not yield to a train Monday morning at a railroad crossing at 232 W. Center St.
The accident sent a refinery worker to Intermountain Medical Center in serious condition with a compound leg fracture, said South Davis Metro Fire Deputy Chief Jeff Bassett.
A semi pulling two trailers was heading west on Center Street and was crossing the tracks when a train owned by Big West Oil hit it.
The injured person was on the back of the train, which was in reverse at the time of the accident. The truck driver and the train engineer were not injured.
The names of those involved in the accident were not released. Citations are pending the outcome of the investigation.
The second trailer hooked to the semi flipped onto its side. Both trailers were empty at the time of the accident, but the train cars were carrying gasoline, Bassett said, adding, “We want to emphasize there (were) no spills, no hazards and no explosions.”
Bassett said the train operators were switching the rail cars on the line owned by the refinery at the time of the accident.
The area where the accident occurred has only yield signs near the tracks. It was west of the tracks owned by FrontRunner and did not affect FrontRunner’s schedule, Bassett said.
North Salt Lake Police Lt. Troy Johnson said the trains that use the refinery lines usually blow their horns three times to warn traffic crossing the tracks.
The train involved in the accident was traveling slowly when the accident occurred, Johnson said.
The refinery’s fire brigade and first-aid crew were the first to arrive at the scene, Bassett said.
Center Street from Main Street to 400 West was closed for several hours until crews finished their investigation.
Power was also out in the area because one of the trailers hit a power pole. Rocky Mountain Power officials were notified of the outage, which affected only one customer.
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