A 57-year-old Cadet man driving to work was not injured when an Amtrak train hit his vehicle at about 6 a.m. today (June 6) at tracks in Sulphur Springs, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reports.
Lt. Gary Higginbotham said Eddy Robart was driving a 1999 Grand Cherokee at the tracks at the Sulphur Springs landing when the train arrived. The train crossing has no warning lights or markings, he said.
“It just barely clipped the front quarter panel on the passenger side, but it was a train hitting a vehicle and (the impact) spun the vehicle around,” Higginbotham said. “Apparently, the sun was in his (Robart’s) eyes. Luckily, he wasn’t killed.”
Robart works at Simpson Gravel and Sand Quarry, Higginbotham said.
He said there was significant damage to the Jeep.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said no injuries were reported for any of the approximately 170 passengers and crew aboard Amtrak train No. 22, called the Texas Eagle. The train was traveling its normal route northbound from San Antonio to Chicago and arrived at its scheduled stop in St. Louis at 8:30 a.m. after a delay of about 90 minutes.
“The vehicle was obstructing the track,” Magliari said.
Rock Community Fire Protection District responded to the accident, said Ron Harder, a spokesman for the district.
He said he considers the incident a learning opportunity for all drivers.
“Our slogan is, ‘Anywhere near tracks, a train can appear at any time,’” Harder said. “Trains can’t stop like vehicles. It can take 200 yards for a train to stop.”