CSX worker hurt after hi-rail truck accident
A CSX Railroad worker from Dunbar remained hospitalized in serious condition Monday after a hi-rail truck he was operating derailed, traveled down an embankment and got struck in some trees in Springfield Township, just inside the Ohiopyle State Park boundary on Sunday. Korey Liston, 26, was ejected from the vehicle, which is a pickup truck with railroad wheels attached, and was rescued with the help of some kayakers and the park’s maintenance supervisor, said John Hallas, Ohiopyle park manager with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).
“It was an interesting rescue operation,” Hallas said.
The accident occurred at 2:26 p.m. when Liston’s service truck derailed on the tracks on the park border and it went down a hill toward the Youghiogheny River.
“The vehicle was in a tree between the railroad tracks and the river,” Hallas said.
A group of recreational rafters that included the park’s maintenance supervisor, who had his park radio with him, saw the vehicle and called emergency officials. The rafters’ guides also had radios and used them to maintain contact with their supervisors and volunteer firefighters, Hallas said.
Park rangers were not able to reach the scene in their vehicles, and the DCNR’s closest access point was on the opposite side of the river, he said.
Rangers were discussing crossing the river in a raft or using an all-terrain vehicle to reach the victim from the railroad right of way, he said.
However, a train was in the vicinity, so the boaters placed Liston in an inflatable kayak and carried him back up to the tracks.
The train came and took him a mile-and-a-half to Stewarton Road, where ambulance crews, firefighters and park rangers were waiting.
An ambulance took him to the Mill Run ball field, where a medical helicopter picked him up and flew him to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Hallas said.
Emergency crews cleared the scene at 5 p.m.
“It seemed to work out and everybody knew what was going on,” Hallas said.
Meg Scheu, a spokeswoman from CSX’s office in Jacksonville, Fla., said the cause of the derailment is under investigation.
Though she would not confirm that Liston was the employee involved in the incident, Scheu said the employee was working alone when the incident occurred and that his injuries were not life threatening.
“We are very glad he is OK. That’s the most important thing,” Scheu said.
She said the rails were not damaged, and train traffic has resumed.