Via Rail train collides with van at Rogersville-area crossing
No one seriously injured in crash, fire chief says
A Via Rail train collided with a van Sunday night at an eastern New Brunswick crossing south of Rogersville that has only a stop sign to control vehicles, officials said.
No passengers or crew were hurt, and the driver of the van suffered only minor injuries in the crash, which happened at about 5:30 p.m., they said.
Cpl. Stephane Lemire with the Richibucto RCMP detachment, said the driver was charged with being a learner driving without supervision and with failing to stop at a stop sign.
Rogersville Fire Chief Roger Pitre said the train was heading north when it hit the Ford van at an "uncontrolled crossing," meaning there are no lights or barriers to keep vehicles off the tracks. Rogersville, now part of the municipality of Nouvelle-Arcadie, is about 93 kilometres northwest of Moncton.
Pitre doesn't know the circumstances of how the person got out of the vehicle but said the fire department did not have to extricate him.
"Luckily, the driver [of the van] just had minor injuries and was attended to by the medics from Ambulance New Brunswick and was not transported," Pitre said in an interview.
Via Rail said the tracks were shut down for the investigation, and the train resumed its trip at about 9:40 p.m. The train travelling from Halifax to Montreal had 93 passengers.
In a statement in French to Radio-Canada, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it was notified of the collision and was assessing the event and gathering information.
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