Train collides with garbage truck sending one to the hospital

SHELLEY – A southbound train struck a PSI garbage truck as it crossed the tracks Monday morning, sending a passenger in the truck to the hospital.

A Union Pacific train traveling south struck a PSI garage truck at a small railroad crossing on the north side of Shelley around 8:23 a.m. Monday morning. The PSI garbage truck had just dropped off a container at the City of Shelley’s transfer station and had traveled south along Spud Alley before turning west and crossing the tracks in front of the train. 

“He appeared to be going west across the tracks when he was struck,†Shelley Public Work’s Director and emergency responder Justin Johnson said.  “It appears the train caught the front right area of the truck spinning it off of the tracks.â€

A passenger in the truck was injured and was attended to by the Shelley Quick Response Unit and the Idaho Falls Paramedics. He was transported by ground ambulance to the hospital by the Idaho Falls Paramedics.

“He was conscious but having trouble breathing,†Johnson said. 

The driver was uninjured.

According to a Union Pacific Railroad spokesperson, the collision did not injure the train engineers.  The train stopped several hundred feet south of the collision site.

No warning lights or traffic arms warning of an approaching train are found at the crossing where the accident happened.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article indicated that the driver of the vehicle was injured and sent to the hospital and that he was the only one in the vehicle. Community Pioneer has since learned that there were two people in the vehicle and it was the passenger who was injured, not the driver. The article has been updated to reflect this.