Second train derailment in Ohio under investigation
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - An investigation is underway as yet another train derailed in Ohio. This happened Saturday in Springfield, Ohio, some 200 miles west of East Palestine.
The only good news to report with this derailment is that, as of right now, there are no injuries reported, and there were no toxic chemicals onboard.
The derailment happened Saturday near Route 41 in Springfield, Ohio.
Twenty cars of a 212-car Norfolk Southern train derailed, prompting residents within 1,000 feet of the derailment to shelter in place out of an abundance of caution.
The derailment also left more than 1,500 residents without power.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted Saturday night that he had been briefed by Federal Railroad Administration about the derailment, and that had spoken with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine about the incident.
DeWine also sent out a tweet saying that along with speaking to Buttigieg, he received a phone call from President Biden. DeWine reiterated that they do not believe that hazardous materials were involved and that multiple state agencies were on the scene.
"I was just sitting there when the train was going by, playing on my phone, just goofing off, and I heard a loud bang, and when I looked up, there were all kinds of debris and metal shooting up from the train cars. It is just crazy because all you hear on the news right now is about the other train derailment. Now, here's one here, I mean, it's just unbelievable," witness Shaun Heathon said.
This derailment comes on the heels of two other Norfolk Southern train derailments.
On Feb. 16, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Van Buren Township outside of Detroit, and, one month ago on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in a fiery crash in East Palestine, prompting evacuations, a toxic chemical burn and subsequent environmental cleanup that is still ongoing.
Investigators are working to find out what caused this most recent train derailment in Springfield, and we will be sure to keep you up to date both on-air and online with more information as we learn it.
And if you are wondering how many train derailments tend to happen in the U.S. each year, the Federal Railroad Administration said that about 1,000 derailments occur annually across the United States to varying degrees.
That comes out to almost three derailments a day.
