By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A man in his 70s was shook up but unhurt when his car was T-boned by a train yesterday morning in south Centralia.
It happened about 10:15 a.m. at the 700 block of South Street on the less-frequently used rail line that runs through the center of town, not the main BNSF rails that carry Amtrak and large freight trains.
He was headed eastbound and didn’t hear the train’s horn, according to the Centralia Police Department.
The engine and the handful of tanker cars it was pushing north were traveling only about 4 to 5 mph, Sgt. Kurt Reichert said.
“It was the train equivalent of a fender bender,” Reichert said.
Still, the mid-sized car was shoved 20 to 30 feet up the tracks, damaging the passenger side door, Reichert said.
There was no passenger in the car, Reichert said.
Reichert said the motorist didn’t have to go to the hospital, and his vehicle is likely repairable.
The area where the rail crosses South Street is somewhat overgrown and doesn’t utilize lights and crossing arms like the BNSF lines, according to Reichert.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
This is a single track having only 2 rails for one train at a time. It runs through residential neighborhoods, and had been largely unused for more than ten years. For some reason when the port of Centralia purchased the forty acres of new properties South of Mellen St. next to this track it went back into service. Currently several empty trains per day go back and forth at about 4 to 5 mph: blowing the train whistle ten times, blocking traffic, and disturbing the peace in these residential neighborhoods. Tanker cars can also be a hazard to public safety depending on the contents. There have been several accidents at this crossing, and the city of Centralia would be better off without it.
Well, I am glad that this man was able to make it out shook up but unharmed otherwise. The city of Centralia should work with the rail lines to see what can be done about installing signals and cross arms for the safety of people in the community.