SIDNEY — The Sidney Fire Department and Sidney police respond to a report of a train crash Thursday, Sept. 8, around 6 p.m. on a property on South Vandemark Road.
According to the report from the police department, officers were notified that a truck had driven into a train. Once in the area, they discovered the crash happened on the property at 725 S. Vandemark Road. The set of tracks are owned by Cargill and are used to load the trains near the large grain bins.
A large Ford dump truck had been converted into a rail vehicle had been back into a parked tanker train car. Employees were tending to the driver, Kevin Larson, who had several area of injury on his face and head.
After talking with other employees in the area, the officer learned they heard the engine of the truck revving high and that was abnormal. They heard a loud crash and found the vehicle had struck the train car and the driver was unconscious. It’s not known if he passed out before the crash or because of the collision.
The vehicle appears to be owned by Queen City Railroad Construction, which is who the employees work for. The foreman with Queen City and other administration/supervision of Cargill arrived and began their own investigation.
The city law director was contacted about possible charges. It was determined the truck was set up to be a rail only truck and is not considered a vehicle.
No further action was taken by the police department.
