Train hits semi-trailer, trapping driver in cab in irrigation canal
Sarah Rieger | CBC News | Posted: April 26, 2018 9:15 PM | Last Updated: April 26, 2018
Truck collided with CP rail train east of Lethbridge
A train slammed into a semi-trailer Thursday near Lethbridge, Alta., tearing the cab from the trailer and throwing it into an irrigation canal, trapping the driver inside.
The semi was hauling an empty trailer and headed westbound on Highway 3 at about 9:40 a.m.
The truck turned north across the rail crossing at Range Road 211, about 10 kilometres east of Lethbridge, where it was struck by a CP Rail train headed east.
RCMP said in a release that the semi's cab was struck, detaching it from the trailer and throwing it east into the St. Mary's River Irrigation District canal.
Hazmat team responded to diesel spill
The driver, from Calgary, was trapped inside and had to be extracted by the Lethbridge Fire Department.
He was taken to Chinook Regional Hospital and is not suffering from life-threatening injuries, police said.
The fire department's hazmat team also responded to the scene, to contain a diesel spill from the truck's fuel tanks.
Police said representatives from the river irrigation district and Alberta Environment are on scene monitoring the spill.
Highway 3 has since reopened, but Range Road 211 remains closed to allow the semi to be safely towed from the canal.
CP Rail officials are investigating the collision.