1 person hurt as train pulling safety caboose collides with tow truck

1 person hurt as train pulling safety caboose collides with tow truck in Jacksonville

Posted: April 8, 2010 - 1:50pm

A train engine pulling a caboose used to promote railroad crossing safety collided with a tow truck in North Jacksonville this afternoon, injuring the tow truck driver, police and fire officials said. The accident occurred about 1:15 p.m. in the 9200 block of North Main Street across from the Preferred Materials concrete plant. A tow truck from Abe's Wrecker Service was leaving a junkyard and crossing a train track when it was struck by the northbound engine and caboose, said Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Lt. Allen Eason. There was no crossing arm at the site, but there was a sign warning motorists about the track. Eason said the tow truck driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The man, taken to Shands Jacksonville hospital, has not been identified.
The CSX engine was pulling an Operation Lifesaver caboose. Operation Lifesaver is a nonprofit organization that raises awareness of railroad crossing hazards, said Gary Sease, a CSX spokesman. A message on the caboose read: Look. Listen. Live. The engine and caboose were headed to work switching trains. No one on the engine was injured and no one was in the caboose.

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