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By A.J. Etherington
Train Collides With Vehicle Near Vandalia
The Montana Highway Patrol has told the Courier that a train struck a pick up truck at the Montfort Rd crossing south of Vandalia at about 9:10 the morning of Aug. 27. The truck was carrying only the driver, who suffered minor injuries, according to the investigating trooper, David Moon.
According to Moon, the driver was traveling northbound on Montfort Rd and failed to yield for the train. The train traveling eastbound struck the rear left side of the truck box and sent the vehicle into the northeast ditch. The driver, a 20 year old Valley County man, was wearing his seatbelt.
Moon added that the cause of the accident appears to be that the driver did not observe the train before arriving at the crossing. He clarified that the investigation had concluded that the driver had not tried to hurry across the tracks to avoid waiting for the train.
Moon said that investigating whether the driver had tried to hurry to beat the train is something that he would have looked for, but that in this case, "it appeared that he just didn't observe the train."
There are no crossing guard arms at the Montfort Rd crossing stated Moon, but the crossing is equipped with warning signs to look for trains.
The train-truck collision is the second such collision in Valley County this summer. A case involving a truck and train occurred at the Hinsdale crossing in July. The July collision involved a driver going around the crossing guards after an initial train went by, only to be struck by a train traveling the opposite direction. That driver was unharmed.