A passenger train hit a tanker truck Wednesday morning on Colorado’s Western Slope, causing the tank to split and spill an estimated 6,000 gallons of oil onto the ground.
The train hit the tanker at 9:40 a.m. while the truck was on the tracks along U.S. 6 near Mile Pond Road, just east of Rifle in Garfield County, according to a news release from the Colorado State Patrol.
The crash derailed six passenger cars and two locomotives, ripped open the truck’s tank of fuel and damaged the train tracks, state officials said.
No train passengers reported any injuries, and the truck driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, the state patrol said. Buses took train passengers to Moab, Utah, where the train was headed before the crash, a representative for the train company said.
was closed in both directions for hours, but had reopened as of 4:48 p.m. Wednesday.
The railroad will be closed indefinitely because of the damage to the tracks, Garfield County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Shannon Stowe said.
Stowe said the cause of the crash and the events leading up to it remain under investigation.
showed the overturned tanker on its side next to a Canyon Spirit passenger train. The is a luxury train from the Armstrong Collective that transports passengers between Denver and Salt Lake City, .
The truck left a trail of fuel between the highway and its resting spot next to the train, the photos show.
“At this point, thankfully, no injuries have been reported by our guests or employees,” spokesperson Dallas Carlson said in an email to the Post. “All of our guests and employees have now been detrained and are traveling via motorcoach to Moab, Utah, where the train was originally traveling to.”
“Emergency services are on site, and we are working with the authorities,” Carlson’s email continued. “Our thoughts are with everyone involved.”
This is a developing story and may be updated.
