Overview
- The crash between a semi-truck and a train near Highway 21 between Brooklyn and Victor caused a derailment Wednesday and prompted a large emergency response.
- Poweshiek County officials confirmed the semi-truck driver was killed and a passenger was flown to a hospital with serious injuries while train occupants suffered only minor injuries.
- Authorities say more than 20 rail cars left the tracks, leaving heavy damage to the railroad and gouging the roadway where cars left their wheels.
- Crews remain on scene clearing wreckage and repairing the tracks and road, and the Iowa Department of Transportation has closed Highway 21 in both directions with closures expected to last several days.
- Investigators are in the early stages of probing the cause and are checking whether the crossing warning lights worked and whether the semi’s load of a large John Deere tractor contributed to knocking cars off the rails.