According to The Columbian, yesterday afternoon’s crash between a truck and a train is being blamed on distracted driving.
Truck driver Rasul A. Tedorov, 39, of Vancouver, was adjusting his GPS unit when he ran off of Highway 14, near the Columbia River Gorge, and landed on the train tracks.
Then he was struck in the rear end by a train.
At the time of the impact, the train had slowed to 17 mph. Prior to the collision, the truck had been traveling 45 mph, however, when the engineers spotted the truck on the tracks, they applied the emergency brakes and were able to slow the locomotive down before the impact.
No one was injured in the collision.
According to The Columbian, the train suffered significant damage, as did the truck’s trailer. A tweet by the Washington Department of Transportation stated, “Holy cow. Train peeled back the semi trailer like a can of sardines!”
Tedorov will likely be charged with 2nd degree negligent driving.
KPTV – FOX 12