FELA Lawyer News Blog

WILTON, N.H. — An accident occurred Wednesday morning, Oct 17, at 7:45 a.m. at the Mill Street/Burns Hill Road railroad crossing in the center of Wilton, along the Souhegan River when a single locomotive owned by the Milford-Bennington Railroad Co. struck a Sullivan Paving Co. truck.

A truck driver was taken to the hospital after his paving truck crashed into a train in Wilton, NH on October 17, 2012. Photo credit: Don Himsel / Telegraph

The driver of the truck, a Sullivan employee, was injured and transported via medflight to a Massachusetts hospital. According to Wilton fire officials, the driver was conscious and alert, but complaining of pain.

Map showing location of train crash with paving truck in Wilton, NH at the Burns Hill Rd and Mill St rail crossing on October 17, 2012.

Officials from the Wilton Police Department, state police and the state Department of Transportation arrived on the scene by 10 a.m.

Nashuatelegraph.com reports:

Wilton Police Chief Brent Hautanen said an investigation showed that the light signals at the crossing were working and active when the driver of the truck tried to cross. The train collided, hitting the bed just behind the cab.

Had it hit the cab, the driver likely would have died, he said.

“He’s very lucky,” Hautanen said, adding the driver’s injuries appeared to be non-life-threatening.

The driver had to be helped from the truck, Deputy Fire Chief Jim Cutler said. The driver was transported by ambulance to a medlife landing area along Route 31, Cutler said.

The locomotive was operated by a single engineer, said Peter Leishman, owner of the Milford- Bennington Railroad. Leishman talked to witnesses at the scene, who told him the locomotive had blasted its horn as it approached the intersection.

The locomotive was traveling about 10 mph, Leishman said.

Within 15 feet of the intersection, the truck went through, officials said.

“There was no chance of him stopping,” Leishman said. “He hit somebody who shouldn’t have been there, in the first place.”

The incident remains under investigation at this time.

Posted by Gordon &amp Elias, a FELA lawyer and New Hampshire railroad injury lawyer who publishes train accidents and FELA legal news from across the United States.

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