Police say a gasoline-truck driver tried to race a locomotive through a flashing railroad crossing late Thursday night. And lost.
The switch engine, crossing 56th Avenue between Colorado Boulevard and the Suncor Refinery in the Sand Creek business complex, smashed into the side of the truck’s trailer, which ruptured and spilled 5,200 gallons of ethanol.
A massive fireball burned everything to a crisp, including the pavement, trees, the railroad signal, the rails, the truck and the switch engine.
The three crewmen in the locomotive jumped right before the explosion. One man sprained his ankle.
The trucker also jumped and wasn’t injured. He was ticketed by Commerce City police for careless driving and failure to obey a traffic signal.
The trucker wasn’t identified, but police said he worked for Roger Morris Trucking Co. The highly flammable ethanol was being delivered to the refinery to be added to gasoline.
Firefighters from the refinery and South Adams County Fire Department poured foam on the blaze for an hour before successfully dousing it.
Police spokesman Chris Dickey said a surveillance tape showed the railroad crossing signal operating for about 10 seconds before the truck drove through it. The crossing had flashing lights, but did not have an arm that lowers to block traffic. Dickey said drugs and alcohol were not factors.
