A garbage truck was torn to pieces and its driver injured when the truck went around lowered railroad crossing gates and into the path of an Amtrak train in Wayne, police said.
The crash happened about 8:32 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22, at the railroad crossing near Michigan Avenue and Merriman Road, said Wayne police service aide James Workman.
Police could not confirm which company operated the garbage truck, but photos from the scene appear to show a Priority Waste truck.
Workman said the driver is hospitalized in stable condition and confirmed the gates were down when the garbage truck went around and attempted to cross the tracks.
No injuries were reported on the train, and Workman said drugs and alcohol were not involved in the crash.
Priority
Waste did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
A bystander said the collision left the garbage truck mangled and scattered debris along the tracks.
Joe Knight, 36, who lives about five minutes from the crossing, said he was on the phone with his girlfriend when the crash happened.
“I heard a big bang, and then I heard the sirens,” Knight said. "I jumped in the car and (emergency crews) were immediately diverting traffic away from the railroad tracks."
Knight said the garbage truck was torn into three pieces, with wreckage scattered along the railroad tracks.
“I saw the Priority Waste truck underneath the train,” he said. “The cab was still at the intersection. The toolbox and stuff that was behind the cab was behind the train.”
Knight said another section of the truck appeared to have been dragged what he estimated to be 500-1,000 feet down the tracks.
“That side street that runs along that train track was just littered with railroad rock from it, just the impact and the truck being dragged along the side of the train,” he said.
The train was still on the scene late Thursday morning and the road was closed to traffic, police said.
Contact reporter Laura Colvin: lcolvin@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Police: Garbage truck driver went around lowered gates in Amtrak crash
