Train derails after hitting truck stopped on gated Missouri quarry crossing
A Missouri train derailment at South Stone Quarry in Cape Girardeau County followed a September 27 collision with a dump truck stopped on the tracks, seriously injuring its driver.
The Fruitland Area Fire Protection District said a train operated by a local railroad company collided with the dump truck at the quarry and that rolling stock derailed. The district did not say how many cars left the rails.
Firefighters found that a fire linked to the crash had gone out before they arrived, and the district reported no hazards at the scene. Crews freed the injured driver from the vehicle, and he was evacuated by helicopter.
What the patrol’s crash report shows
The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s crash report says the truck, a 2023 Komatsu heading east, was stationary on the tracks when the southbound train hit its side. It places the crash on private property on Quarry Drive and lists crossing arms with lights and a bell among the signal devices at the site.
The patrol identified the driver as a 37-year-old man from Cape Girardeau. He was flown to St. Louis University Hospital with serious injuries. The report lists no injuries for the train’s engineer. It records the truck as a total loss and the Electro-Motive Diesel locomotive as extensively damaged.
The fire district said the circumstances of the crash remain under investigation, and no cause has been given.
Mendon crash involved a crossing without lights or gates
The quarry crossing’s equipment differs from the site of the June 27, 2022 collision near Mendon, Missouri, where Amtrak’s Southwest Chief struck a dump truck on BNSF track. A National Transportation Safety Board report describes that crossing as passive, with crossbucks and stop signs but no flashing lights or gates. Three passengers and the truck driver died, and 146 people were taken to hospitals.
The board found that the truck driver entered the crossing without stopping and that the crossing’s design contributed to the crash. Chariton County closed that crossing afterwards.
| Detail | Cape Girardeau County, 2026 | Mendon, 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Date and time | September 27, 2026, about 9 a.m. | June 27, 2022, about 12:42 p.m. |
| Train | Train of a local railroad company heading south | Amtrak’s Southwest Chief heading east on BNSF track |
| Truck | 2023 Komatsu, stationary on the tracks | 2007 Kenworth W900B carrying aggregate, moving at about 5–6 mph |
| Crossing | Crossing on private property with crossing arms, lights and a bell | Passive crossing on County Road 113 with crossbucks and stop signs |
| Derailed equipment | Rolling stock derailed, number not given | Both locomotives and all eight railcars |
| Casualties | Truck driver seriously injured | Truck driver and three passengers killed, 146 people taken to hospitals |
| Finding | Circumstances under investigation, no cause given | Driver entered without stopping, crossing design contributed |
Unlike the Mendon site, the quarry crossing had active warning devices. What stopped the truck on the tracks has not been announced. Sources: Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report 260411912, Fruitland Area Fire Protection District post, National Transportation Safety Board report RIR-23-09.
Under Federal Railroad Administration definitions, active crossings carry devices such as bells, flashing lights and gates. Private crossings sit on privately owned roads, including industrial sites, and serve the owner and invited users. The agency counted 80,073 private crossings and 129,582 public ones in 2015.
