Amtrak train hits semi rig in Ill.; 10 treated

[December 09, 2008]  BRIGHTON (AP) -- Amtrak says 10 people were injured when a train slammed into a tractor-trailer that blocked tracks in southern Illinois.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says nine passengers and one crew member went to hospitals for evaluation and were treated and released by Monday evening.

Macoupin County Sheriff Don Albrecht says the truck's cab became stuck on the crossing around 11:15 a.m. Monday and the driver left the vehicle when he heard the train, which was traveling to St. Louis from Chicago.

The locomotive and four cars slipped off the rails, though they remained upright and coupled.

A chartered bus took Amtrak's 30 other passengers to Alton and St. Louis, about 40 miles away.

[Associated Press]

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