Amtrak Conductor Injured in Train-Semitrailer Collision Near Denver

An Amtrak conductor is recovering after a passenger train collided with a semitrailer northeast of Denver early Tuesday.

Colorado State Patrol says Train 5, traveling from Chicago to the San Francisco Bay Area, hit the truck around 6:30 a.m. near Roggen in Weld County. None of the 174 passengers onboard were hurt.

A 40-year-old Denver conductor suffered serious injuries and was taken to the hospital. A second conductor was evaluated but not injured. The semitrailer’s driver, a 64-year-old Brighton man, walked away unharmed.

The wreck caused a bit of curiosity slowing on the roadways around the crash site, as both directions of CR-73 were closed just south of I-76, between Front Street to the north and CR-24 ½ to the south. There was no slowing on I-76, as police remained on-scene for several hours.

Investigators say the truck driver failed to stop at a posted railroad crossing sign before the train struck the trailer, tearing it apart. Potential charges are still under review.

After a three-and-a-half-hour delay, the train continued west. The roadway was cleared by the noon-hour on Tuesday.

The Federal Railroad Administration says railroad crossing crashes are the nation’s second-leading cause of rail-related deaths — and Amtrak is urging drivers to obey signs and use extreme caution near tracks.