Jun 20, 2009 2:19 pm US/Central
1 Dead, 6 Injured In Rockford Train Derailment
Freight Train Was Carrying Flammable Liquids, Causing Explosion
ROCKFORD, Ill. (CBS) ―
Railroad tank cars holding thousands of gallons of highly flammable ethanol derailed and exploded in flames, killing a woman as she tried to run to safety from a car stopped at a crossing.
Three other people from the same car escaped with severe burns. Hundreds of people were evacuated from homes near the explosion.
As of Saturday morning, only two or three train cars were still burning.
The cause of the derailment had not been determined. Reports that it was caused by a washout of the tracks following heavy rain were "not a certainty and this remains under investigation," said Canadian National Railway Company spokesman Patrick Waldron.
The derailment happened near the South Mulford and Sandy Hollow roads at 8:39 p.m., according to Rockford Fire Department Division Chief Frank Schmitt.
Six people were injured; three of those injured suffered burns serious enough to require hospitalization and three were treated on the scene, Rockford Fire Chief Derek Bergsten said.
The name of the person killed was not yet being released Saturday morning. The woman who was killed had escaped from the stopped automobile, but she managed to get only 20 feet away before she fell and died, said Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia. She said an autopsy was planned for Sunday.
Three people with the woman also ran from the car when it was bombarded with flying railroad ties and they were severely burned by flaming ethanol, said Rockford Fire Chief Derek Bergsten. They were taken to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in serious to critical condition, and one was transferred to Stroger Hospital in Chicago, he said.
The train was an eastbound Canadian National freight train with 114 cars, 70 of which were carrying flammable liquids, according to Bergsten. Schmitt said some of the cars were hauling ethanol and flames could be seen for miles late Friday night.
At midnight, 14 train cars were on fire and crews were letting the fire burn while pouring water on adjacent cars to keep the fire from spreading.
"We are protecting the other train cars so they don't burn," Bergsten said. At the time, he anticipated the fire could burn for another 16 hours.
As of 10 a.m. Saturday, only two or three train cars were still burning. The others had burned themselves out over the course of the morning, said Sue Coers, a coordinator with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
About 600 homes within a half-mile radius of the derailment were evacuated, according to Bergman, who said most displaced families were able to find shelter with family members and others were being temporarily housed at the Faith Wesleyan Church at 6031 Harrison Ave. in Rockford.
The National Transportation Safety Board sent a 14-member team investigate. Railroad Investigator Stephen Klejst will lead the team, the NTSB said in a statement. Canadian National and the Federal Railroad Administration will assist.
Officials evacuated residents of about 600 homes within a half-mile of the derailment, Bergsten said. He said potentially toxic fumes should keep them out of their homes until environmental officials give them the green light to return. The American Red Cross set up shelters at nearby churches.
"At first I thought it was a tornado because they always say a tornado sounds like a train coming," said Jeff Tilley, a Register-Star employee who lives near the scene of the derailment.
Alicia Zatkowski, a spokeswoman for ComEd, said the derailment knocked out power to about 1,000 of the Chicago-based utility's Rockford-area customers.
At one point, crews from 25 fire departments were assisting on the scene, Bergsten said.
The Associated Press and STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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