Jorge Luis Cruz-Vega / Collegedale Police Department photoCollegedale police have arrested the man who was driving a tractor-trailer carrying a 137-foot concrete bridge beam that was hit by a train, which then derailed in the 10000 block of Apison Pike last month, according to the Collegedale Police Department.
Jorge Luis Cruz-Vega, 64, of Martinez, Georgia, has been charged with failure to yield, a registration violation and felony reckless endangerment.
An investigation revealed that on Dec. 20, Cruz-Vega proceeded across the railroad crossing behind his first escort car without first checking to make sure the tractor-trailer could completely clear the tracks. He also did not make contact or arrangements with Norfolk Southern Railroad about his delivery route. Cruz-Vega had stopped halfway across the tracks after his turn, bringing his tractor trailer into the on-coming lane of traffic instead of his own travel lane, a news release states.
(READ MORE: Train derails in Collegedale after collision with truck carrying concrete)
While stopped in the on-coming lane of traffic, the tractor trailer and the concrete bridge beam were struck by a Norfolk Southern locomotive, causing three of the train’s engines and 10 of its rail cars to leave the tracks. The incident caused substantial damage, shut down the railroad crossing and hospitalized the train’s engineer and conductor. The 106,000-pound beam that was bound for the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s $97.2 million road project in Collegedale was also destroyed.
A 14-second video that was posted to Facebook showed the truck with the bridge beam across the tracks as the train with its horn blaring smashed into the beam near the rear trailer wheels. The beam was knocked into the air as it tangled on the leading locomotive engine and was dragged down the tracks and out of sight in a cloud of dust and debris.
(READ MORE: Apison Pike project delays remain unclear after Collegedale train derailment)
Firefighters who arrived at the scene called for a mutual aid for additional emergency crews and hazardous materials cleanup efforts. Emergency crews had to use absorbent booms and pads to assist with a large diesel spill from the three locomotives that derailed.
Cruz-Vega, who was employed by Starrette Houston Trucking LLC out of Augusta, Georgia, at the time of the incident, is free on a $10,000 bond. His court date is set for April 12. 2023.
— Compiled by Kim Sebring