Overview
- Rich Creek Mayor Paul Morrison, 57, was taken into custody Tuesday at a derailment site on a public intoxication charge, and authorities have not said what conduct led to the arrest.
- The derailment involved a Norfolk Southern train near the Virginia–West Virginia border and spilled soybean oil into the Bluestone River, according to state environmental officials.
- West Virginia’s Department of Environmental Protection said the soybean oil is non-hazardous and that response crews contained the leak with no injuries or evacuations reported.
- He was booked into the New River Valley Regional Jail and released on his own recognizance, with a Giles County court date set for July 7.
- On Thursday, Morrison posted an apology on the town’s Facebook page, and records show he won the mayor’s office in November via a write-in campaign with about 77 of 106 votes in a town of roughly 700 residents.