Trucker backs into an Amtrak collision

[blue streak 1]

A trucker in Ann Arbor did a three peat in dumbness.

1. Turned down a road that indicated he was overwehght.  Crossed RR track and then saw a river bridge that he knew he was overweight.

2. Then instead of turning around decided to back up over RR track and for some reason did not complete back up.

3.  Amtrak train came and driver apparently stayed in cab while train hit him.  No damages to train but trailer load of kyaks ------

Here is a link

 

http://www.annarbor.com/news/amtrak-train-strikes-semi-trailer-in-ann-arbor-township/

 

[Overmod]

Seems more likely to me (from the wording in the story) that he was following a GPS that was not 'truck-optimized' and came to grief trying to cross the river going northbound.  But there has to be more to the story, because looking at the actual location here seems to be little objective reason for him to have come to grief backing up (I presume the issue was getting the back of the trailer onto North Huron Drive?).  (Google North Huron Drive at Foster Road in Maps and when you zoom in all the way you get the interactive street view.)

I'm not sure where he'd have been going with a truckload of kayaks, though.  Dick's Sporting Goods and Cabela's are to the south, so not even remotely in the direction he was going.  I'd think a local driver delivering from either would be more likely to know the area.  That basically leaves some establishment on the river, getting a large shipment of new boats for "spring," and it should be possible to narrow this down substantially by where a reroute off something like 238 would make sense.

The remaining issue is why he didn't pull forward off the track when the gates came down.  He surely had room, and no impediments that I can see.  Fatigue, perhaps?  Shock?  Not expecting passenger speed?

[blue streak 1]

The lack of any damage to the loco brings up a question.   Is this an active ITCS section and if so was there a fouled crossing indication ?  If so did the engineer have time to slow preventing any damage to the loco ?

 

[Overmod]

blue streak 1

The lack of any damage to the loco brings up a question.   Is this an active ITCS section and if so was there a fouled crossing indication ?  If so did the engineer have time to slow preventing any damage to the loco ?

I think it is far more likely that plowing through the middle of a van trailer filled with light boats is not likely to cause much damage to a Genesis front end.  (I remember seeing the Turbotrain plow through a trailer loaded with, I think, frozen cuts of meat -- the damage was essentially limited to the two little clamshell nose doors...)

Yes, though, I'd like to know the specific answer to the question blue streak asked..

[rcdrye]

Ann Arbor is east of the active ITCS section.  It's on the NS line that Michigan was working on taking over.  ITCS won't be on that section for a while.

[fordv10]

By looking at the pictures tho locomotive in the picture must be on the tailend of the train.The way the trailer is facing it is in the wrong direction to have been hit by the locomotive shown.