Train involved in fatal Sauget truck crash was carrying hazardous materials

Three of four tank cars of a train involved in a fatal crash with a pickup truck on Saturday in Sauget were carrying hazardous materials, but area residents weren’t in danger, according to authorities.

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 was called in to help police and firefighters assess the situation.

Donley said his team was able to quickly determine that the tank cars weren’t damaged and no valves underneath them were leaking, greatly reducing the risk of an explosion.

“The truck and the fire were all around the two engines of the train,” he said. “The three tank cars were behind those, and there was no indication of any damage or impact between the vehicle and those cars.”

Even if the truck had collided with the tank cars, they likely would have been OK, Donley said, noting that state and federal regulators require such cars to meet high standards of sturdiness.

Jerame Simmons, fire chief for Prairie du Pont Fire Protection District, agreed.

“Penetration of tank cars is pretty rare,” he said. “But if you heat up the valves underneath them (or the liquid inside), it can be devastating.”

Sauget police reported that a blue Ford F-150 pickup truck collided with a Union Pacific train about 2 a.m. Saturday at a railroad crossing in the 3000 block of Mississippi Avenue (Illinois 3).

A man driving the truck was killed. The St. Clair County coroner’s office hasn’t yet released his identity.

“The truck was on fire, and it was burning up the side of (one of the two train engines),” said Herb Simmons, executive director of St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency. “Our first responders did a great job of getting it under control.”

Sauget police are investigating the accident. Also responding to the scene on Saturday morning were Illinois State Police, Cahokia Volunteer Fire Department and Prairie du Pont.

Mississippi Avenue is lined with several large industrial plants, including copper manufacturer Cerro Flow Products, which is right next to the railroad tracks. The train was crossing the roadway when the truck collided with it.

Officers arrived to find the truck and a train engine engulfed in flames, Sauget Police Chief James Jones told the BND. The crossing’s gates had lowered, and its lights were flashing.

One of the gates was broken off, making it appear that the truck had crashed through it before colliding with the train, said Herb Simmons, who arrived about 2:30 a.m., shortly after his son, Jerame Simmons.

“One can only speculate what happened,” Herb Simmons said. “It’s obvious that the train was moving slow, based on the impact.”

If the train had been moving fast, he said, it likely would have dragged the truck down the railroad tracks for a distance. Instead, the truck came to a stop next to the crossing.

“We can’t say how fast (the driver) was going, but the whole front of that truck was damaged really bad,” Jerame Simmons said. “He hit a train. Trains don’t move.”

By 8 a.m. Saturday, Herb and Jerame Simmons and some of the other first responders were eating breakfast at The Diner in Sauget, a popular place for plant workers.

The train and pickup truck already had been towed away, and traffic was flowing on Mississippi Avenue.

“If you weren’t here (shortly after the accident), you wouldn’t even know it happened,” Herb Simmons said. “They did a good job of cleaning it up.”

The railroad crossing was the scene of another tragic accident in 2020. Toshorn Napper, 31, of Fairview Heights, was killed when a vehicle rear-ended his SUV while he was stopped at the crossing.

A former Alton police officer, Ashley Roever, was convicted and sent to prison for causing his death by driving while intoxicated.

Today, a memorial with Napper’s photo stands next to the roadway with stuffed teddy bears, flowers and crosses beneath it. Illinois Department of Transportation signs read, “Please Don’t Drink and Drive” and “In memory of Toshorn Derell Napper Jr., Nov. 14, 2020.”

BND reporter Carolyn P. Smith contributed to this story.