Eight people sustained minor injuries in a collision between an Amtrak passenger train and a semi-trailer truck in Lakeland on Friday, according to a Polk County Sheriff’s Office press release.
The train, carrying 173 people, was scheduled to go from Miami to New York and had recently left the Lakeland Amtrak station when it hit the truck, which was stuck on the tracks.
As the train approached the truck around 78 mph, the truck’s driver and single passenger jumped out of the vehicle. Diesel fuel from the train leaked and a part of the lead engine derailed.
Uninjured passengers and crew on the train were transported to Tampa via bus, while those injured were transported to a nearby hospital.
“It is truly a miracle that nobody was seriously hurt in this crash. A collision between a passenger train and a semi-truck could have been much worse,” Polk Sheriff Grady Judy said in the release.
Damages to the train and tracks, as well as cleanup costs and losses because of the track’s temporary closure, are estimated to land somewhere between six to 10 million dollars, the release said.
The truck’s driver was given a citation for insufficient clearance at a railroad crossing. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
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