Christmas came early for Florida residents who are snapping up beef and chicken that was spilled when a train collided with a semi truck, splitting it in half, this morning.
Developing: Train collides with stalled semi in Lakeland, splitting it into two. There were no injuries. https://t.co/ukr5xcQlSh CC: @seguifox13 pic.twitter.com/lweVr9O7CU
— FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@FOX13News) December 13, 2017
Train Collision Leads To Massive Meat Spill
The crash happened around midnight in Lakeland when a truck hauling boxes of frozen meats for the Colorado Meat and Seafood Company stalled on the train tracks on Ingram Avenue.
The truck driver left the truck and attempted to contact the authorities to stop the train, according to Fox 13, but the attempt was unsuccessful. A train hauling 48 loads of mixed freight and 17 empty cars slammed into the stalled semi, breaking it in half and spilling tons of frozen meat all over the train tracks and the roadway.
“I gotta be honest, it smells like bacon.” – @seguifox13 on the Lakeland semi v. train collision.
Full story: https://t.co/ukr5xcQlSh pic.twitter.com/ciT3eT3DPE
— FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@FOX13News) December 13, 2017
No injuries were reported.
The train did not derail and was cleared to move just before 6 a.m.
Residents Salvage Spilled Meat Products
After the Colorado Meat and Seafood Company said that they did not want their spilled meat products, crews working to clean up the crash started tossing boxes of frozen food in dumpsters. That’s when local Floridians started to show up to salvage some of the spilled meat for themselves.
LAKELAND TRAIN AX Semi trailer w/full load of meat hit by train overnight. Company gave meat away for free. Brief mob scene ensued @BN9 pic.twitter.com/EXBOl82PK1
— Jason Lanning (@Jason_Lanning) December 13, 2017
Resident Jessie Woulard said, “People are hungry. Some people are so hungry they’ll wash it off. Everybody needs something. It’s Christmas.”
People were allowed to pick through the spilled meat for about an hour before authorities shooed them away to continue the cleanup process.
Free chicken? Fish? Neighbors grabbing boxes of meat after CSX train heading to Jacksonville crashes along N. Ingraham in Lakeland. No injuries. pic.twitter.com/hk2eM2z2J9
— Emerald Morrow (@EmeraldMorrow) December 13, 2017
Typically, authorities discourage people from eating food spilled in truck crashes. Notably, in Dekalb County, Alabama, in 2015, the DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency took to Facebook after a truck spilled a load of cheese, warning residents “as result of the incident, the cheese product has been declared salvaged and not fit for human consumption. Please do not consume the cheese products at this time.”