5 vehicles, train involved in Monroe crash

MONROE, N.C. — Eyewitness News has learned new details about what led up to a crash involving a train and a tractor-trailer Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Hundreds of PVC pipes were spilled out of the truck when Chopper 9 Skyzoom flew over the scene. The wreck shut down Old Charlotte Highway and Rocky River Road for hours.

As of Tuesday night, the piping was still scattered all over Old Charlotte Highway.

Witnesses said they heard a loud boom and it was all over.

"I turned away because I knew something was coming," said witness David Frank, whose truck was damaged in the accident.

All Frank could do was hold his breath and pray in the seconds before the crash.

"Soon as I heard the train whistle I knew something was going to happen," said Frank.

A total of five vehicles were involved in the wreck.

"It was just like a boom when the train hit the trailer," said Frank.

An eyewitness said it happened like this:

The stoplight was red at the busy intersection in Monroe. The semi-truck stopped behind traffic with its trailer sitting on the railroad tracks. When the driver saw the train coming he tried to drive forward, and push cars, even another semi-truck, out of the way, but, he couldn't get off the tracks in time.

Frank's pickup was one of the vehicles hit.

Eyewitness News was told one person was hospitalized complaining of neck and back pain, but those injuries were not bad.

Witnesses were amazed no one was seriously hurt in such an awful crash.

"It was a lot of chaos trying to figure out what was going on," said Frank.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured. He was cited for failure to stop at a railroad crossing.

WSOC