We're learning more tonight about the deadly accident involving a Norfolk Southern train.
It happened Tuesday afternoon on Garman road behind the Kroger warehouse in Roanoke county. A dump truck loaded with concrete was trying to cross the railroad tracks, was hit by a coal train, then burst into flames.
The victim, Bruce Eller was thrown from the truck. A co-worker was able to pull Eller away from the flames, but it was too late.
The crash happened on a private crossing where there are no gates or signals.
Eller's co-workers and boss say that the bright sun's flare off of the snow was blinding.
A relative tells WSLS that Eller was celebrating his 12th anniversary with his fiance on the very day he was killed. They also say Eller left behind three children and five step-children.
Eller's boss says he was a good employee and doesn't remember him having any problems on the road. "It's terrible and we really feel bad about it," said John King, president of King's Hauling and Excavating, Inc.
A Norfolk Southern spokesman says the engineer applied the emergency brake and blew the horn before Eller crossed the track.
But Eller's co-worker who was standing about 100 yards away says he never heard a full force horn.
King says more should be done so this never happens again. "All crossings should have lighting or a gate to let a person know a train is coming," says King.
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, there are no legal requirements for signs or horns at private railroad crossings.
A Norfolk Southern spokesman says the railroad company has voluntarily put up stop signs and crossbucks at all of its private crossings to improve safety. Both of those signs are up at the crossing where Eller was killed.
Roanoke county police are investigating what caused the crash.
Norfolk Southern says it's in the process of installing cameras in all of its 4,000 locomotives. The spokesman was not sure if the locomotive in this accident had a camera.
We asked Norfolk Southern about the driving record of the engineer in Tuesday's collision. But the company would not release that information, calling it a personnel matter.
The spokesman does say engineers are required to undergo periodic training and testing.
We also spoke with a woman whose father was killed at the same crossing about 40 years ago. She says there were no signs at the crossing at that time.
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