Related links
ST. CHARLES, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) -
A St. Peters man was hit by a train, knocked unconscious, and thrown into nearby floodwaters about 9:20 Saturday morning. Somehow he survived. Residents called for the installation of automatic crossing gates in the wake of crash. Investigators identified the driver as Robert McSpadden of St. Peters, who's in his early 50's.
It was a cold, grey, hard-to-see rainy morning. A train hit McSpadden's truck, sending it off the side of the tracks, down an embankment. The truck overturned and landed in about 2 feet of floodwater.
"He could have been face down into that water," said Captain Brian Butts of Central County Fire & Rescue. "Luckily he had his seatbelt on it held him, suspended him away from the water but the right side of the vehicle was submerged under the water."
The crossing lights were working. A witness said the driver seemed to notice them flashing and slowed down, but then started again, rolled out onto the tracks and stopped just before the train hit the back half of his truck.
"We were just flooded out of our home a couple of weeks ago," said neighbor, April Faulkner. "Good thing the water wasn't up higher. He may not have had a chance. He would have flooded and drowned."
She said McSpadden appeared to breathing inside the truck. Still, rescuers said he was unconscious. They said they caught a break when they got down into the water to see how they could get him out.
"It was up to our knees. We were able to get access through the back of the truck. We were preparing to take the roof off the truck. We were starting to open up the front windshield. They're just happened to be enough room that they were able to get the backboard in the back and slide him out pretty quickly," Butts said.
Faulkner said the crossing needed safety gates like the one just down the road on Route C just outside of old town St. Peters.
"It would prevent a lot of injuries and death. And just one person's life is worth putting it up for," Faulkner said.
Authorities said McSpadden left the scene in critical condition, the hospital now says he is in fair condition. The crossing reopened about three hours after the crash. Only one set of crossing lights was still standing. A second was destroyed in the crash.
It was a cold, grey, hard-to-see rainy morning. A train hit McSpadden's truck, sending it off the side of the tracks, down an embankment. The truck overturned and landed in about 2 feet of floodwater.
"He could have been face down into that water," said Captain Brian Butts of Central County Fire & Rescue. "Luckily he had his seatbelt on it held him, suspended him away from the water but the right side of the vehicle was submerged under the water."
The crossing lights were working. A witness said the driver seemed to notice them flashing and slowed down, but then started again, rolled out onto the tracks and stopped just before the train hit the back half of his truck.
"We were just flooded out of our home a couple of weeks ago," said neighbor, April Faulkner. "Good thing the water wasn't up higher. He may not have had a chance. He would have flooded and drowned."
She said McSpadden appeared to breathing inside the truck. Still, rescuers said he was unconscious. They said they caught a break when they got down into the water to see how they could get him out.
"It was up to our knees. We were able to get access through the back of the truck. We were preparing to take the roof off the truck. We were starting to open up the front windshield. They're just happened to be enough room that they were able to get the backboard in the back and slide him out pretty quickly," Butts said.
Faulkner said the crossing needed safety gates like the one just down the road on Route C just outside of old town St. Peters.
"It would prevent a lot of injuries and death. And just one person's life is worth putting it up for," Faulkner said.
Authorities said McSpadden left the scene in critical condition, the hospital now says he is in fair condition. The crossing reopened about three hours after the crash. Only one set of crossing lights was still standing. A second was destroyed in the crash.
