Driver gets out of truck before freight train hits vehicle near Ash Grove Cement

Published 5:52 pm Tuesday, November 19, 2024

A truck hauling cement to Ash Grove Cement’s factory near Durkee was hit by a freight train Tuesday morning, Nov. 19, but the driver was able to get out of the truck before the collision and was not hurt.

The driver, Reed Kirkeby of Nampa, Idaho, was leaving Ash Grove when the trailer he was hauling had a mechanical problem, leaving the vehicle stranded on the railroad crossing at Shirttail Creek Road, according to the Baker County Sheriff’s Office.

After trying several times to free the trailer, Kirkeby got out of the truck and was trying to notify Union Pacific Railroad when a train struck the vehicle.

The train did not derail, but the crossing was blocked for several hours.

Baker County Dispatch received a 911 call about the collision at 5:56 a.m.

The sheriff’s office was assisted by Oregon State Police, Pioneer Ambulance, and the Baker Rural and Keating Rural fire protection districts.