VIDEO: Trucker Killed When Colorado Train Derails and Bridge Collapses

Amy Furr

Officials say a semi-trailer truck driver was killed Sunday when a train derailed near Pueblo, Colorado. The incident is under investigation.

Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Gayle Perez told the Associated Press (AP) Monday that no other vehicles were involved:

During the incident, a bridge partially collapsed over the interstate, and the truck was trapped underneath. A massive amount of coal was also spilled onto the roadway.

Video footage shows mangled train cars and coal spillage as emergency crews assessed the situation:

The AP report continued:

The BNSF train carrying coal derailed on a bridge over Interstate 25 just north of Pueblo around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to Kendall Kirkham Sloan, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth, Texas-based freight railroad. There were no reported injuries to BNSF crew. The cause of the derailment was under investigation and BNSF personnel were working with responding agencies to clear the incident as safely as possible, Kirkham Sloan said.

…

President Joe Biden had been scheduled to visit CS Wind, the world’s largest facility for wind tower manufacturing, in Pueblo on Monday, but postponed the trip to stay in Washington and focus on the growing conflict in the Middle East. The White House said just a few hours before Biden was set to take off for the trip that it would be rescheduled.

Colorado State Patrol Major Brian Lyons told reporters the incident happened at Milepost 107. He added that officials were working to make sure the scene was safe as responding agencies investigated.

When a reporter asked him how it happened, Lyons said, “That’s gonna be something over the next couple days that we’re going to be working with our state and federal partners to determine exactly how this occurred.”

Fox 31 Denver reported early Monday that Interstate 25 was shut down near Pueblo following the train derailment:

In a social media post on Sunday evening, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg addressed the situation.

“In touch with Gov. Polis and have been briefed by Federal Railroad & Federal Highway Administrations on a BNSF coal train derailment & bridge collapse affecting I-25 near Pueblo, CO,” he stated:

He later said, “State & local authorities are leading the immediate emergency response, and we will be ready to help in any way needed to support a swift return to normal use for the highway and rail routes affected.”

Buttigieg has faced controversy over transportation issues across the nation. A Rasmussen Reports survey from March found a majority of likely voters want him to resign for his handling of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Breitbart News reported on March 13.

“Buttigieg was slow to respond to train derailment in the Buckeye State, only opting to visit the area after former President Trump made an effort, the latter of whom made sure that the people of the area knew they were not forgotten,” the outlet said.

Breitbart News has extensively covered train derailments that have occurred across the country.

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