The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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February 28, 2011

Man leaps to safety before vehicle hits train

By Dan Nienaber The Free Press

SLEEPY EYE — A truck driver was able to jump to safety Monday morning as his semi slid through a railroad crossing and was struck by a Canadian Pacific train.

Paul William Gitter, 27, was driving a semi owned by C&J Waste Handling of Lafayette when he attempted to stop at the crossing, a Brown County Sheriff’s Department report said. Packed snow made the road slippery, so the truck slid into the path of the train when Gitter hit the brakes.

Gitter was able to jump from the cab of the truck before it was hit. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Sleepy Eye, where he was treated for injuries and released.

The semi tractor was totaled and the trailer was severely damaged in the crash.

Deputies were called to the crash on 280th Avenue, just north of Highway 14 and on the west edge of Sleepy Eye, at about 10:10 a.m. Sleepy Eye police officers and firefighters also responded.

The train’s two engines and five its tanker cars were damaged in the crash, the report said. The damaged tankers were empty, so nothing was spilled.

Two Canadian Pacific employees on the train were not injured. Darrell Gregory Palmer, 29, of Mankato was the engineer and Joshua Davis Gehloff, 22, of Elgin was the conductor.

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