CHAFFEE, Mo. — A federal agency has sent investigators to southeast Missouri, where seven people were injured when two cargo trains collided on tracks under a highway overpass, causing the overpass to partially collapse.
Scott County Sheriff’s Office Dispatcher Clay Slipis said the collision happened around 2:30 a.m. Saturday near Chaffee when a Union Pacific train hit a Burlington Northern train. Slipis said several cars derailed and hit a pillar of the Highway M overpass, bringing it down. Two cars were on that stretch of road.
Seven people — five in the vehicles and both train conductors — were taken to a hospital. Slipis said all but one was treated and released; the seventh is in good condition.
The National Transportation Safety Board says it’s sent a crew to investigate the cause.