Train Hits Semi Near SyracuseSYRACUSE – A train slammed into a flatbed trailer stuck on railroad tracks in Syracuse Thursday, badly damaging the carrier and halting the eastbound freight train. County dispatch received a call around 10:45 a.m. from a bystander who said a 2001 Freightliner semi-tractor towing a low-boy trailer had become stuck on the grade crossing on the CSX railroad tracks near the intersection of Warner and Cornelius roads. Dispatchers at that point began contacting CSX officials in an attempt to stop any eastbound trains bound for that location. The warning came too late, however, as a three-engine, 116-car train slammed into the lengthy trailer. The collision shoved the trailer to a parallel set of tracks, and the train came to a stop just down the tracks. The semi driver, 51-year-old William J. Scott, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., was out of the cab and was not injured in the collision, and no other injuries were reported. The crossing was closed for nearly two hours as CSX inspected the tracks for damage and cleared the line. Investigators estimated the collision caused $10,000 to $25,000 in damage to the trailer and train.
