Two Railroad Workers Among Injured After Union Pacific & BNSF Trains Collide in MO

May 28th, 2013 |

ROCKVIEW, MO – A 75-car BNSF train carrying scrap metal was broadsided by a Union Pacific train hauling auto parts at a rail intersection in Rockview, MO on May 25, 2013. The accident injured two railroad workers and several motorists. Rockview is located in Scott County, MO in the southeastern part of the state about 126 miles southeast of St. Louis.

Rail cars and a concrete roadway lay in a heap after a collision between a Union Pacific train and a BNSF train caused a highway overpass to collapse in Rockview, MO on May 25, 2013.

The accident happened when a southbound BNSF train was hit broadside by a westbound Union Pacific train at the intersection. The Union Pacific train derailed and ran into a pillar supporting the overpass which caused it to collapse.

Map shows location of a train crash between a Union Pacific train and a BNSF train at a railway intersection in Rockview, MO on May 25, 2013. The crash caused the collapse of the overpass of State Highway M.

Map shows location of a train crash between a Union Pacific train and a BNSF train at a railway intersection in Rockview, MO on May 25, 2013, collapsing overpass State Highway M.

Seven people were injured in the accident: two railroad workers and five motorists from the overpass. The two Union Pacific railroad employees were the conductor and the engineer in the locomotive.

According to a Reuters news report, the railroad workers injuries were not considered life threatening, but at least one of the motorists did suffer life-threatening injuries. No fatalities were reported.

The five injured motorists were driving in two cars on the collapsed portion of the roadway that was above the tracks. The Union Pacific train was on its way from Illinois heading towards its destination in Texas. According to a report, “The collision of the BNSF Railway Co and Union Pacific trains also sparked a fire when diesel fuel leaked from one of the train engines.”

The fire was put out shortly afterwards.

The accident is currently under investigation. Investigators are not saying which train had the right of way but it is known that at least a dozen cars of the southbound BNSF train had passed the intersection at the time of the collision.

Blog post by Gordon, Elias & Seely, a FELA lawyer and Missouri railroad injury lawyer who publishes train accidents and FELA legal news from across the United States.