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UP train collides with semi, derails

Truck, train operators uninjured

A Union Pacific train collided with a semi truck 10 miles west of Sidney early Monday morning.

The two crew members aboard the train and a driver and passenger in the truck were not injured, Cheyenne County Sheriff John Jenson said.

"But they were shaken," he added.

The collision occurred at about 1 a.m. near mile marker 45 on U.S. Highway 30.

UP spokeswoman Calli Hite said the train collided with the semi at a grade crossing, where the truck was stuck. Three locomotives and seven rail cars derailed, she added.

The occupants of the semi had exited the vehicle prior to the crash, Jenson said.

A stretch of the highway from the junction with 17C Link to Potter was closed until about 11:30 a.m. Monday as heavy equipment was brought in to clean up the scene.

The train was traveling eastbound from Oregon to Chicago and carried intermodal cars, which are containers that can be moved from ships to trains to trucks, Hite explained.

A small fire that ignited near the locomotives shortly after the collision was quickly extinguished by members from the Sidney Volunteer Fire Department.

Jenson said deputies are still investigating what caused the truck to become stopped at the crossing.

The Nebraska State Patrol, Region 21 Emergency Management and UP personnel also responded to scene.

 

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