Man dies after train strikes pickup truck in remote area of Iron County

The scene of a crash between a pickup truck and a train near 5600 West, resulting in the death of the pickup driver Saturday morning, Beryl, Utah, Jan. 20, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Iron County Sheriff's Office, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A man was killed in Beryl Saturday morning when the pickup truck he was in was struck by an oncoming train as the vehicle was stopped on the railroad tracks.

At approximately 8:30 a.m. Cedar Emergency Communications received a 911 call reporting that a train had struck a pickup truck near 5600 West in Beryl. It was unknown at the time of the call whether there was anyone in the truck when the incident occurred, Iron County Sheriff’s Lt. Del Schlosser said.

A crane lifts a pickup truck after it was struck by a train near 5600 West Saturday morning, Beryl, Utah, Jan. 20, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Iron County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Emergency medical personnel who arrived at the location of the crash found the driver, a 50-year-old man, dead at the scene. Iron County Sheriff’s deputies later arrived after an hour-long drive due to the remoteness of the area and inclement weather conditions, Schlosser said.

Crews from the Beryl Fire Department were called to assist in extricating the driver from the truck, and a crane was used to remove the truck from the tracks.

While speaking with Union Pacific officials, investigators learned that another train had been through the area at approximately 4:30 a.m., and there was no vehicle on the tracks at that time.

The train did not derail, nor did it spill any of its cargo during the incident, and the conductor is cooperating with the investigation.

“We are currently investigating if the vehicle was stuck on the tracks at the time of the accident,” Schlosser said.

Investigators found indications of possible alcohol and drug use by the driver of the pickup truck, Schlosser said.

The man’s name has not yet been released pending notification of family.

The Iron County Sheriff’s Office, Beryl Fire Department and Gold Cross Ambulance responded and tended to the scene.

The investigation into the cause and contributing factors of the incident is ongoing.

This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.  

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

1 Comment

  • Honor1st January 24, 2018 at 7:09 pm

    The gentlemen who passed was one of the nice guys in Veyo who helped other with many tasks .
    Apparently the train tracks were still covered in snow & he didn’t see them when he got stuck driving along the road .
    ;-( ;-( ;-(

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.