Semi-truck driver dead after train derailment in Monroe County

MONROE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The 65-year-old driver semi-truck driver who crashed into a train in Monroe County died, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol. A train and tractor-trailer crashed Sunday afternoon in Monroe County, Monroe County Joint Communications confirmed.

According to the crash report, Russell Minnis of Higbee was confirmed dead around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. The train operator was not injured.

A Trooper told ABC 17 News there was a line of cars waiting at the crossing where the safety measures, including lights and crossing arms, were all working. The semi-truck drove through the crossing and into the train, derailing at least two engines and more than a dozen train cars. The other cars waiting at the crossing were fine.

The operator of the train also has no injuries, according to the crash report. The train is a Norfolk Southern Locomotive, hauling rock at the time of the crash.

Del Buckman said his granddaughter was in one of the cars waiting at the crossing. She called him and he was able to get pictures of the crash from his airplane. From his vantage point in the sky, Buckman said he did not see any skidmarks on the road.

Drivers are being directed away from the scene of the crash. The Missouri Department of Transportation shut down the road indefinitely while crews clean up the crash scene.

"It's going to be several hours," Corporal Nicholas Borgmeyer with the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. "They're taking [the traffic] up 151 to Highway J across to Highway A. So that's gonna be the detour around the closure."

The crash happened where Highway 24 meets train tracks between Madison and Holliday. Joint Communications could not confirm any other information.