CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY, MISSOURI — A BNSF locomotive and six rail cars derailed Sunday morning after the train struck a quarry dump truck that was stationary on the tracks at a gate-protected crossing about 20 miles north of Cape Girardeau, sending the 37-year-old truck driver to a St. Louis hospital by helicopter with serious injuries.
Fruitland Area Fire Protection District was dispatched at 9:01 a.m. on September 27 to South Stone Quarry for a reported collision and derailment with a patient requiring extrication. Crews arrived to find a fire at the scene had already self-extinguished. Firefighters performed an extrication and freed the driver from the dump truck. Air Evac Lifeteam airlifted him to a St. Louis hospital. No injuries to the train crew were reported. No hazardous materials were involved.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report indicates the train struck the dump truck while it was stationary on the tracks at a gate-protected crossing. The incident occurred on BNSF’s River Subdivision. The cause and circumstances remain under investigation.
Mutual aid was provided by Jackson Fire Rescue and East County Fire Protection District, with Cape Girardeau Fire Department on standby.
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