Train smacks semi carrying jet fuel

Published 2:25 pm Monday, February 25, 2013

A semi-truck carrying jet fuel crashed Thursday morning and rolled onto train tracks off Highway 730, 30 minutes before a train slammed into the wreckage.

The driver, James Richard Trexler, 72, escaped before the train reached his vehicle and no one was injured in the crash.

Trexler told police he was travelling westbound along 730 near Juniper Canyon Road at approximately 6 a.m. when an eastbound vehicle went into his lane to pass another vehicle. Trexler drove into the gravelled side of the road to avoid the vehicle and became stuck, with a quarter of his vehicle sitting on the train tracks.

According to Oregon State Police officer Gerrad Little, the train hit the vehicle about a half hour later.

We tried to inform the train before it reached here but there was miscommunication over which milepost it was at, Little said. They thought it was further ahead.

The train dragged the truck for about a quarter mile before coming to a stop.

Assistant Hermiston fire chief Scott Stanton said that by noon the truck had leaked, drop by drop, about 10 to 15 gallons of jet fuel because of the collision.

Regional Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Teams from Hermiston and Pasco responded to safely remove the fuel. Other responders included OSP, Oregon Department of Transportation, Union Pacific Railroad and Hermiston Fire Department.

Little said Trexler appeared to have minor injuries, lingering at the scene for an hour before he got sore and headed to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston for a physical examination.

Contact Natalie Wheeler at nwheeler@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536.