OR: DERAILED TRAIN ENDS UP ON RESIDENT'S FRONT YARD
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DRAIN, Oregon (KEZI) — On Friday, a Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad (CORP) train carrying lumber and sand derailed in Drain.
One resident said a train car ended up in his front yard.
“This train goes by twice every day, you get used to the noise,” Everett Baker, Drain resident, said. “And Friday afternoon at three o’clock I heard an unusual noise from it. Opened my front door in time to see the train come apart.”
Baker recounts the moments leading up to the derailment.
“The effects of seeing a moving train come off the tracks coming at you,” Baker said. “I think it put me in shock. I noticed I couldn’t move. I was just kind of frozen looking at it. I mean, it was unbelievable.”
Luckily, the train didn’t damage Baker’s property. But one of his trucks did sustain some damage to the front of the car, although Baker said the damage came from a train car hitting a post that then hit the car.
“It was a sigh of relief,” Baker said. “I thought it hit everything until I got out there and saw. And it was a relief after I saw it.”
Tom Ciuba, CORP a spokesperson, said 12 cars derailed and they “were either empty or carrying lumber or sand. There were no injuries and no hazardous material was released.”
Crews have been on site working on cleanup all weekend and have made massive progress already.
“They’ve been working pretty diligently from day break until dark, and they’re making headway,” Baker said. “They’re done down by my house … looks like they’ll be here for a few more days.”
CORP said they plan to have the scene restored by Wednesday.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office initially responded to the incident Friday afternoon, eventually handing over the scene to local fire crews to make sure there wasn’t risk of a wildfire starting.
An investigation is now underway into the cause of the derailment.
“At this time, a definitive cause is unknown as the investigation continues,” Ciuba said. “We thank responders working on scene with railroad management, and we ask everyone to stay away from the site so that we can work as safely and efficiently as possible to complete cleanup.”
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