Authorities are still cleaning up after a train slammed into a mattress delivery truck that became stalled on a Clayton County railroad crossing Wednesday afternoon.
The driver of the tractor-trailer escaped unharmed before the fiery collision about 4:40 p.m. in the area of Rex Circle and Mill Road, according to Clayton County fire officials.
The truck was broadsided by the Norfolk Southern locomotive after getting stuck on the track while backing into a business, investigators said. The impact of the collision mangled the truck’s trailer and caused it to burst into flames.
“When we arrived on scene, the tractor-trailer was still on fire,” said Laura Richardson, deputy chief of operations for Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services. “Amazingly, there were no injuries.”
Norfolk Southern spokesman Jeff DeGraff said the truck driver got out of the cab before the collision. There were no injuries reported by the crew of the 47-car train, which was traveling from Garden City to Austell.
While the wrecked vehicles have been removed from the scene, cleanup of the roadway is taking place Thursday morning, police said. Authorities are still asking drivers to avoid the area.
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