Harvest season turned tragic in rural Cass County on Thursday, when a combine and a BNSF train collided about five miles northwest of Page, killing the combine driver.
Troopers with the North Dakota Highway Patrol said the 33-year-old man from Colgate, N.D., was found dead inside the combine after the collision. The impact caused the lead engine of the train to catch fire and derailed nearly two dozen train cars. Crews with BNSF are still arriving to begin cleanup operations, which could take several days.
Just before 11 a.m., the 2020 John Deere combine was headed south on a township road about five miles south of Page, N.D., when it ran into the side of the westbound lead engine. The rail crossing is marked but not controlled.
The impact caused the lead locomotive to catch fire, and approximately 20 train cars derailed, spilling cargo into nearby fields, law enforcement officials said.
The combine driver died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. The train’s engineer and conductor escaped without injury before the fire.
“The engineer and the conductor of that train were able to witness what was about to occur. They were able to brace for impact, they were able to hit the emergency brakes of the train, they were utilizing their whistle, they utilized it more than they needed to to try and get the attention of the combine operator,” Capt. Bryan Niewind of the North Dakota Highway Patrol told WDAY News.
“As these rail cars are derailing, that combine became intermingled with some of those rail cars,” Niewind said.
Officials hope the crash serves as a reminder during harvest season.
“These uncontrolled intersections, it’s very important for people not to get complacent. Maybe you haven’t seen a train there in two years, but as you approach those intersections, you do need to be clearing those, so you need to look both ways to see if there is a train,” Niewind said.
A news release from the North Dakota Highway Patrol said 133rd Avenue Southeast will be closed north and south of the tracks for 34 to 48 hours. Drivers and residents were asked to avoid the area.
Authorities are still waiting to see if the camera on board the train was working to help piece together the events that led to the tragedy.
The crash remains under investigation by the North Dakota Highway Patrol.
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