Crash Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Tractor-Trailer Crash Involving Hazardous Material Closes W.Va. Turnpike

The West Virginia Parkways Authority reports the crash happened in northbound lanes.

Updated on Sept. 28, 2023 at 10:56 a.m.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) and several other state and local agencies are responding to a tractor trailer crash that occurred on the West Virginia Turnpike near mile marker 62 in Fayette County Thursday morning. The truck was headed northbound and hauling approximately 4,500 gallons of an ammonium nitrate and water solution.

The material has been contained to a ditch line and emergency crews are digging additional containment measures to capture the product and prevent further migration. No streams have been impacted at this time and WVDEP staff and other officials are monitoring the spill closely.

Ammonium nitrate is predominantly used in agriculture as a fertilizer. No evacuation orders have been issued at this time.

An environmental contractor, Evergreen Environmental, is currently on site to remediate the area and an additional contractor is en route to the scene to pump the remaining product from the tractor trailer. No timetable for completion of the cleanup has been set at this time.

The agencies involved include the WVDEP’s Homeland Security and Emergency Response, Hazardous Waste, and Environmental Enforcement units, West Virginia State Police, the State Fire Marshal, Fayette County Emergency Management, and fire department crews from Charleston, Pax, and Mt. Hope.

Updated on Sept. 28, 2023 at 10:33 a.m.

Jeff Miller, executive director of the West Virginia Parkways Authority, said the southbound lanes of I-77 reopened a little after 9:30 a.m., he said northbound lanes could be closed for several hours. Miller said the chemicals from the tractor-trailer did not get into nearby streams.

Miller said Turnpike Detour A will be in effect until the Turnpike reopens. Traffic heading north will take the North Beckley Exit (Exit 48) to US 19, then take US 19 to Interstate 79 near Sutton. Drivers can then take I-79 to Charleston. The detour is approximately 125 miles.

Southbound traffic will see local detours until cleanup is finished.

Original Post

The West Virginia Parkways Authority reports the crash happened in northbound lanes near mile marker 62 in Fayette County, about 6:40 a.m. Both northbound and southbound lanes are currently closed in that area.

Authority communications personnel say the tractor-trailer was carrying 44,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate, a hazardous and flammable compound.

Several agencies, including the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, West Virginia State Police and others are currently on scene.

The turnpike is expected to be closed in both directions until crews can clear the scene. No timetable has been given so far.

Officials say the driver was not hurt in the incident. Traffic is being detoured using a pre-designated plan provided by the Parkways Authority:

If I-77 southbound is closed between exits 85 and 48, traffic will be notified of the closure and if required, detoured at Charleston onto I-79 northbound. Detoured drivers will proceed north on to exit 57 and will then be directed to U.S. 19, where they will travel south to Beckley. From there, drivers can take the exit 48 entrance ramp to I-77 and proceed south.

Motorists traveling east on I-64 will take exit 59 onto I-77 north and will be directed onto I-79 north at exit 104 (I-77) interchange. From here, drivers should proceed with the detour outlined above. If the northbound lanes of I-77 are closed between exits 85 and 44, drivers will be directed to take exit 48 and continue north on U.S. 19 to the exit 57, I-77/U.S. 19 interchange. From there, drivers will proceed south on I-79 to the exit 104 interchange. Drivers will then have the option to proceed north or south on I-77.

Updates on when the turnpike will reopen will come on WV 511.

Mingo County: Truck Driver Dead In Collision With School Bus

A truck driver is dead and seven students hospitalized for evaluation following an early morning school bus crash in Mingo County.

The school bus was carrying students on the way to Mingo Central High School when it collided with a truck on the King Coal Highway around 7 a.m.

The Mingo County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed to WVPB the driver of the truck was killed in the head on collision. The driver’s name has not been released.

School officials released a statement saying the injuries to the students are not considered to be life-threatening.

Parents of the students were notified immediately following the accident and the school alerted the community through its social media channels.

The West Virginia State Police state police are investigating the crash.

First Lady Cathy Justice postponed a scheduled trip to Lenore for a Therapy Paws “Pup Rally” event. The first lady issued the following statement in a press release:

“The Governor and I send our deepest condolences to the family of the driver that was killed in this morning’s crash. We are also praying for the families of the students and bus driver involved, several of whom were transported to the hospital,” Justice said.

Small Airplane Crashes In Northern W.Va.

Authorities are investigating reports of a small airplane going down in northern West Virginia.

State Police spokeswoman Shallon Oglesby told The Exponent Telegram that units were headed to the scene, which was in an unincorporated area between Grafton and Fairmont.

No further information on the aircraft was immediately available. The incident was reported to the emergency services office for Harrison and Taylor counties around 1 p.m. Monday. Emergency crews from Taylor County and the city of Grafton were responding.

The Latest: Rail Crossing at Crash Site Has Warning Signals

This is a developing story. Keep checking back for more details.

Updated at 4:02 p.m.

The railroad crossing where a train carrying Republican lawmakers struck a trash truck is equipped with two advance warning signs, two roadway gate arms, two mast-mounted flashing lights and a bell to warn of an approaching train.

Those details are included in a U.S. Department of Transportation Inventory Form dated Jan. 3 describing the warning system at the crossing near Crozet, Virginia.

According to the report, three freight trains pass through the intersection during the day and two at night, on average. The report says passenger trains don’t go through very often — an average of less than one per day.

The maximum speed for trains crossing the intersection is 60 miles per hour.

One accident report filed by CSX Transportation in 1999 said a train hit a vehicle that was stuck between the rails at the crossing. No injuries were reported, but there was damage to the train’s engine and the vehicle, which was driven by a 70-year-old woman who got out of her car before the train hit.

Updated at 3:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he has spoken to House Speaker Paul Ryan after a train carrying Republican lawmakers to a retreat hit a truck on the tracks in Virginia.

The president says in the Oval Office that the lawmakers are “doing pretty good” and are “proceeding with their conference.” Trump says he was told “it was a pretty rough hit.”

The White House says one person was killed and another was seriously injured after the chartered train struck a garbage truck.

Trump is planning to address the Republican lawmakers Thursday at the conference at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

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Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee was injured Wednesday morning when a train taking Republican members of Congress to a retreat hit a garbage truck in Virginia.

The Republican said in a phone call from the scene, where he was being treated for his injuries, that he was on his way to the restroom when the crash occurred. He said he was thrown around upon impact and suffered neck, back and foot injuries.

Fleischmann said he was in a “bit of shock” and significant pain.

Updated at 2:30 p.m.

Staff members say Rep. Jason Lewis of Minnesota has been taken to a hospital after being injured in a train accident in Virginia.

Members of his staff tweeted that the first-term congressman was being checked for a possible concussion after the Wednesday crash.

Officials say the train was carrying Republican lawmakers from Washington to a retreat in West Virginia when it hit a truck on the tracks near Crozet, Virginia.

The White House is confirming one fatality and one serious injury after the chartered train hit a garbage truck.

Updated at 2:15 p.m.

A spokeswoman says Rep. Jason Lewis of Minnesota has been taken to a hospital after being injured in a train accident in Virginia.

Campaign manager Becky Alery says the first-term congressman has suffered possible whiplash in the Wednesday crash and the hospital visit is standard protocol.

Officials say the train was carrying Republican lawmakers from Washington to a retreat in West Virginia when it hit a truck on the tracks near Crozet, Virginia.

The White House is confirming one fatality and one serious injury after the chartered train hit a garbage truck.

Updated at 2 p.m.

Amtrak says two crew members and two passengers have been taken to a hospital with minor injuries after a train crash in Virginia.

Amtrak spokeswoman Beth K. Toll says the four were injured when the train hit a truck on the tracks Wednesday morning near Crozet, Virginia.

Police and a local hospital have given differing figures, but the reason for the discrepancies wasn’t immediately clear.

The train was carrying Republican lawmakers to a conference at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

The accident happened at an intersection that crosses the tracks at the top of a hill where visibility is limited. There is a train arm at the crossing.

Crozet is a small town west of Charlottesville, which is home to the University of Virginia.

Updated at 1:55 p.m.

The organization that’s hosting a retreat for congressional Republicans says the event will go on with an adjusted program in the wake of the train accident carrying participants to a West Virginia resort.

The Congressional Institute says the decision was made after consulting with Republican leaders.

The White House is confirming one fatality and one serious injury after the chartered train hit a garbage truck.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says there are no serious injuries among members of Congress or congressional staff.

Updated at 1:15 p.m.

A congressman on the train involved in an accident on its way to a GOP retreat in West Virginia says three lawmakers who are doctors tended to crash victims.

Rep. James Comer of Kentucky says the collision destroyed a garbage truck, leaving it “just in pieces.”

Comer says Reps. Larry Bucshon of Indiana, Roger Marshall of Kansas and Brad Wenstrup of Ohio came to the aid of crash victims before emergency personnel — including a transport helicopter — arrived.

The train was en route to a conference at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and hit the truck in Crozet, Virginia — which is near west of Charlottesville.

Comer says lawmakers, spouses, and aides had been on the train for about two hours when suddenly there was a crash. The impact made him jump out of his seat.

Updated at 12:40 p.m.

An Amtrak spokeswoman says a train has come into contact with a vehicle on the tracks in central Virginia — the same area where members of Congress are reporting their train struck a truck.

Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods says there are no reported injuries to passengers or crew members after the incident that happened around 11:20 a.m. in Crozet, Virginia. Crozet is about 15 miles west of Charlottesville.

Woods says the train originated in Washington, but she couldn’t confirm that members of Congress were aboard.

She says local law enforcement is investigating and crews are inspecting equipment for damage.

Updated at 12:35 p.m.

The White House is confirming one fatality and one serious injury after a chartered train carrying Republican lawmakers to a retreat in West Virginia hit a garbage truck.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says there are no serious injuries among members of Congress or congressional staff.

Sanders says President Donald Trump has been fully briefed on the matter and is receiving regular updates.

The train carrying the lawmakers hit a garbage truck south of Charlottesville, Virginia.

Lawmakers are heading to their annual legislative retreat at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Original Post:

Republican lawmakers and aides say a train carrying them to a policy retreat in West Virginia has struck a truck.

Oklahoma GOP Rep. Tom Cole says a person on the truck may have been injured. Emergency workers were on the scene.

Cole says he’s not aware of any injuries on the train. A GOP aide speaking on condition of anonymity because the aide was not authorized to speak publicly says no lawmakers were injured.

Cole says he believes the accident occurred near Charlottesville, Virginia.