FL: Train vs semi full of watermelon

I'll have to admit,they were a couple of punks.I see nothing humorous about it.Wonder if the driver made it out safe.Wonder why he didn't back up once he heard the train horn,he had time to do so.Wonder if he was even in the trk.Alot of wonders as to why.

 

Also wonder if he was stuck.One thing you need to do if stuck on tracks is call the rr number located near the tracks so they can stop the train.

 

Speaking of trains,did u all know they are also subject to HOS.Union Pacific is on elogs and can operate 12 hrs a day.Found that out yesterday.

 

A 130-car train plowed through a semi-truck hauling watermelons in Sumter County Wednesday night after the truck stalled on a railroad track.
The accident left watermelon debris scattered throughout the tracks, including a crate of the fruit plastered to the front of the CSX locomotive.
But the truck driver was able to hop out before the collision and no injuries were reported, said Sgt. Steve Gaskins, a spokesman with the Florida Highway Patrol.
According to an FHP report, the crash occurred about 6:50 p.m. Wednesday in Oxford as Vincent Vuong Tran, 45, of Garden Grove, Calif., was hauling watermelons west on Country Road 104 and crossing over train tracks near U.S. Highway 301, just outside The Villages retirement community.
Gaskins said the crossing’s “grade angle was too much,” and the trailer’s legs — used to stabilize the trailer when unconnected from the cab — became stuck on the tracks as the train was traveling south toward it.

 

My dad worked for the RR way back when and they had to have I believe it was 8 or 10 off for sleep and were not to be disturbed by calls from work. The run they had could be bumped by another person who wanted it, and they could not run a load if they did not have their break in. He died in 1969.

 

**Explicit Language** For those sensitive people

 

It pays to google map areas and zoom in and check out any railroad crossings before getting on the road. Just a little bit further up or down according to where he came from was Rt106/466 that had the tracks but on a flatter spot and larger road than 104, and he could have jumped back on 301 at a light signal vs stop sign.

 

That "grade" is not that steep, seems to me the moron is just trying to cover his ### for being stupid....

 

I would have got out pulled the pin and try to drive off the tracks. I would just sit there till the last second.