Semi driver stalled on tracks jumps out of harm's way as train smashes his truck near Fairmount

By Kim Hyatt

July 17, 2017 08:13 PM

FAIRMOUNT, N.D. -- A 30-year-old truck driver from Breckenridge, Minn., jumped out of his semi to avoid being hit by an oncoming train Monday, July 17.

Patrick Carstensen was driving a 2013 Kenworth semi that the Richland County Sheriff's Office reported a total loss after responding to the railroad crossing at Highway 127 by Fairmount.

About 2:30 p.m., Carstensen told deputies that he was going north on the highway when the railroad crossing arms came down on the cab of the semi. Carsten said he stopped "and in doing so the semi shut down," Richland County reports in a press release.

"The driver, while trying to restart the semi, observed the train coming toward him so he jumped out of the semi and out of harm's way," the release states. "The train struck the semi causing it to jackknife."

The semi was towed to Lillegards, a farm equipment supplier in Wahpeton. The train and crossing arm were both damaged, though an estimate of how much it will cost for both to be repaired is unknown, the release stated.

The incident remains under investigation.

Related Topics: CRASHES FAIRMOUNT WAHPETON

By Kim Hyatt

Kim Hyatt is a reporter for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead covering community issues and other topics. She previously worked for the Owatonna People's Press where she received the Minnesota Newspaper Association's Dave Pyle New Journalist Award in 2016. Later that year, she joined The Forum as a night reporter and is now part of the investigative team. She's a 2014 graduate of the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Semi driver stalled on tracks jumps out of harm's way as train smashes his truck near Fairmount

FAIRMOUNT, N.D. -- A 30-year-old truck driver from Breckenridge, Minn., jumped out of his semi to avoid being hit by an oncoming train Monday, July 17.Patrick Carstensen was driving a 2013 Kenworth semi that the Richland County Sheriff's Office r...