Aurelia man escapes injury in collision with train

Travis Anderson may be counting his blessings, after he escaped without injury from an accident involving the semi-truck (filled with grain) that he was driving and a Chicago Central and Pacific train.

The 29-year-old man from Aurelia was traveling north on M27 south of Highway 7 in a Fuhrman Family Farms semi and trailer on Tuesday morning, Feb. 10, when he failed to stop for a westbound train. It appears that he had barely gotten the tractor of his truck across the crossing when the trailer was struck by the train engine.

The train traveled some distance before stopping. A large part of the trailer was wrapped around the engine's front.

The trailer sustained $41,000 damage. The train also sustained damage, but at this time the amountl is unknown. Anderson was charged for failure to stop. The accident was covered by the Iowa State Patrol, assisted by the Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office and the Alta Police Department.

This is the third train/vehicle collision on the same tracks in less than a year. This fall, two people were killed when a tractor crossed the tracks in front of a train at West Highway in Alta. Earlier in 2008, a semi was struck crossing the Main Street tracks in Aurelia, resulting in minor injuries.