Freight train collision kills 2 in N.C.

MINERAL SPRINGS, N.C. - Two CSX train crew members have been killed and two others injured when a pair of freight trains collided south of Charlotte, N.C.

CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan said the locomotives were traveling through Mineral Springs when one train struck the other from behind early Tuesday.

County officials said one of the railroad employees died at the scene. The other was pronounced dead at a Charlotte hospital. Two additional crew members were treated at the scene.

One train had 12 freight cars and was traveling from Atlanta to Charlotte. The other had nine cars and was heading to Hamlet from New Orleans.

Both trains derailed and five homes near the track were evacuated when a fire started. CSX officials said no hazardous materials were involved.

One car hauling cooking oil sparked the fire, CBS News affiliate WBTV-TV in Charlotte, N.C., reports. The other eight railcars were carrying common freight.

Resident James Bailey told WBTV-TV that he made the first call to 911 to report the collision.

Because he didn't know what was on board the train, he said the emergency dispatcher told him to evacuate. His home is so close to the scene he actually heard a conductor's voice coming from the rubble.

"I believe he was trapped from the way he sounded, and, evidently, he couldn't move; he was just crying out," Bailey told WBTV-TV.

Bailey's nephew, whose first name is also James, climbed through the mangled mess of metal to help.

"I just heard one of the conductors screaming for help," Bailey told WBTV-TV. "He was in and out of consciousness, and the other one was pretty calm about everything."

Both men stayed with the injured workers until rescue crews arrived on the scene.