Authorities identify man killed when pickup truck collided with a train in Sauget
Authorities have identified the man who was killed when the pickup truck he was driving slammed into a train early Saturday.
Jamarin Ballard, 39, of Cahokia Heights, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident on Mississippi Avenue (Illinois Route 3) at 4:30 a.m., according to St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye. Sr.
Ballard was driving a truck traveling south in the 3000 block of Mississippi Avenue when it crossed the railroad tracks and collided with a moving Union Pacific train.
The railroad crossing gates were down and flashing lights activated when the collision happened, said Sauget Police Chief James Jones. When officers arrived, they found the truck and a train engine engulfed by flames.
No one else was in the truck, and no one in the train was injured.
The train had two engines and four tank cars. Three of the cars were carrying hazardous materials, but authorities said residents were not endangered.
The materials included chlorine, phosphorus pentasulfide and sulphuric acid, said Brian Donley, deputy chief of St. Clair Special Emergency Services Association, a non-profit organization that helped police and firefighters assess the situation.
Reporter Teri Maddox contributed to this story.
