A Regional Transportation District train and a tractor-trailer collided in Aurora on Monday, but the cause of the crash remains unknown, police said.
The crash happened at 9:21 a.m. Monday, near where the commuter rail A Line passes the intersection of Smith Road and Sable Boulevard, RTD spokesperson Pauline Haberman said.
RTD’s commuter rail A Line and the surrounding intersection were shut down for hours after the crash.
The train resumed service between the Central Park and 40th & Airport stations shortly after 2 p.m., after nearly five hours of buses filling the gap in the A Line caused by the closed tracks, .
Police said the at about 2:30 p.m. Monday, but Sable remains closed north of Smith. The closure runs from the railroad crossing through East Moncrief Place.
Traffic cannot pass over the train tracks in either direction — a restriction that’s expected to remain in place through Tuesday afternoon, according to the police department.
It’s unclear what caused the crash, Haberman said.
Two of the 55 passengers on board were injured, including the train operator, Aurora police spokesperson Matthew Longshore said. Police originally said .
The truck driver was not injured, police said.
Paramedics took the train operator to the hospital as a precaution, Longshore said. The other passenger had minor injuries and was not transported.
The truck driver was headed south on Sable and trying to turn left onto Smith, Longshore said.
The driver told police he was waiting for northbound traffic to pass before turning when the train hit his trailer, Longshore said.
It’s unknown if the train crossing malfunctioned or why the truck driver was stopped on the tracks. Longshore said RTD and the Aurora Police Department’s traffic unit are still investigating the incident.
The team is reviewing surveillance footage from that intersection and data captured from the train to determine what happened and who is at fault.
“That might take some time to get to their final decision,” Longshore said.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
