WALBRIDGE, Ohio — An engineer whose error sent a train with hazardous cargo on a nearly 70-mile journey through Ohio without a crew desperately tried to climb on the locomotive and stop it, railroad investigators said.
But the railing was slick from rain, and the engineer couldn't pull himself aboard. He was dragged about 80 feet and fell to the ground, investigators said Wednesday.
The engineer mistakenly hit the throttle instead of a brake as he pulled through a railyard Tuesday. He hopped off the train to manually switch tracks and saw the 47-car train pulling away.
For two hours, the train sailed at speeds at times nearing 50 mph. Rail workers ran toward the engine several times to jump aboard, but the train was moving too fast.
At one point, a state trooper fired a shotgun at the train, hoping to hit a fuel-cutoff button. Twice rail workers tried to derail the train, veering it to a side track and hoping the shift would send the cars tumbling off the track.
With no one aboard, there were no warning whistles to alert cars that the train was coming. Volunteer firefighters and ambulance drivers raced to stay ahead of the train and block crossings. A medical helicopter hovered above in case there was a collision.
Eventually, CSX workers caught up to the train with another locomotive and attached it to the last car, applying the brakes and slowing the runaway train down to 10 to 15 mph.
That allowed Jon Hosfeld, a 31-year CSX employee, to grab a railing, pull himself aboard and stop the train outside Kenton.
"The adrenaline was going and I knew what I had to do," he said. "I just wanted to make sure I didn't get injured."
The train's engineer, who has worked for the railroad for 35 years, had set two of three brakes on the train, investigators said. He thought he had set the third brake but accidentally hit the throttle instead.
"The effect would be similar to pressing down on the brake and accelerator simultaneously in an automobile, but under much more complex circumstances," said Alan F. Crown, CSX's executive vice president-transportation.
Federal investigators met with the engineer, who has a clean safety record, for several hours Wednesday morning, CSX said. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio was assisting with the investigation.
The engineer's name was not released.
"He acknowledged that he made a serious error in judgment, and he will be held accountable," Crown said.
On the Net: CSX: www.csx.com
Federal Railroad Administration: www.fra.dot.gov
NTSB: www.ntsb.gov