Semi-Truck Driver Dies After Collision With Train
CHESWICK (KDKA) - The driver of a semi-truck died after a collision with a train in Cheswick on Thursday morning.
The collision occurred on Blockdale Street at Pittsburgh Street just after 5 a.m.
It was like a chain reaction: the semi-truck was hit by the train, which then crashed into a brick building. Crews on scene tell KDKA the truck driver died almost instantly.
"I heard the train whistles blowing, which I hear all the time," said Paul Oden.
He was on his couch around 5:30 this morning when he heard a loud boom.
"I hear this smash and the building shake. Shook me off the couch," said Oden.
It was a semi-truck crashing into the building he and his sister live in. No one inside was injured.
Emergency officials on scene tell KDKA the driver was attempting to back up along Blockdale Street when he was hit by the train.
It was a powerful crash.
"Yeah it ripped the whole truck apart," said Oden.
The truck driver died at the scene.
Oden says his door is now bent and there are cracks in his walls.
He tells KDKA he's lived there for just two months and this is the second crash he's experienced there.
"I don't know why they don't have lights here for these crossings, apparently they don't think they need them. I think they do," he says.