VERMILION – A truck vs. train crash led to a battery acid spill and the minor injury of a driver on Vermilion Road Aug. 1.
According to the Vermilion Police Department, the crash involving a train and a large box truck carrying batteries occured on Vermillion Road at the tracks south of Liberty Avenue around 10:58 a.m. The truck driver Jacob Koenig, 27 of Garfield Heights, was transported to Mercy Hospital for minor injuries and has since been released, the police department confirmed.
The crash also caused battery acid to spill from the truck into the area.
Vermilion police and fire departments were on scene, and Norfolk Southern railroad company and Spilltech Environmental were still cleaning up the acid spill as of 6:30 p.m., said Fire Chief Chris Stempowski.
The crash also closed the train crossings at Vermilion Road and at Main, Grand and Adams Streets, said Mayor Eileen Bulan.
Bulan added by 4 p.m. the crossings at Main, Grand and Adams streets reopened, but the Vermilion Road crossing was to remain closed overnight because its train crossing signals were not working.
The mayor’s family business, Bulan’s Boat Yard, 710 Vermilion Road, also lost power temporarily due to the crash, Bulan said.
Authorities were still investigating the cause and details of the crash as of the evening of Aug. 1. According to the police department, they are waiting for video footage from the incident from the Norfolk Southern railroad company.
Staff writer Rick Payerchin contributed to this report.
