Three killed as train, U.S. Army truck
collide at crossing in Germany
By Dan O’Brien,
Stars and Stripes
A German passenger train collided with a U.S. Army vehicle Friday morning near the
Grafenwöhr Training Area, killing one soldier, the train’s engineer and a passenger.
Another soldier, who was a passenger in the vehicle, and at least 23 people on the
train were also treated for injuries after the 8:30 a.m. accident near the town of
Gressenwöhr, according to German police investigators. Five of the train passengers are
reportedly in serious condition.
Names of both soldiers are being withheld until their families can be notified.
The train, Regional Express 3560, had departed Weiden station at 8:11 a.m. and was more
than halfway to its destination of Nuremberg when it collided with the truck at a marked,
gated track crossing approximately a half-mile from Vilseck. The crossing is in a rural
area just outside the southern perimeter of the Grafenwöhr Training Area.
The collision sparked a fire that engulfed the engine and first passenger car of the
train. Debris from the wreckage was strewn as far as 300 yards from the point of contact.
Investigators have not yet determined why the truck was on the train tracks. An initial
report issued by German police at an afternoon news conference said that the crossing
barriers were lowered at the time of the accident.
"We’re making sure all safety requirements were met," said Capt. Jeff
Settle, spokesman for the 7th Army Training Command in Grafenwöhr. "A lot of people
— the Red Cross, CID [Criminal Investigation Command], German police, military police
— came together on the site to make sure we had the proper tools for the
investigation."
Both soldiers are assigned to the 529th Ordnance Company, headquartered in Vilseck,
said Maj. Gregory Burke, spokesman for the 3rd Corps Support Command in Wiesbaden.
The two soldiers were the only passengers in the vehicle, a PLS (palletized loading
system) transport truck, and were heading to an ammunition supply point near Rose Barracks
in Vilseck when the accident occurred, Burke said.
The truck, carrying empty storage containers, was not part of a convoy, he added.
The accident was the lead story on afternoon newscasts in Germany. Video taken at the
scene showed firefighters and emergency crews working around the burnt hull of one of the
train’s passenger cars.
Police cordoned off a road leading to the accident and restricted access around the
scene.
"Condolences from the Army go out to all concerned," Settle said. "Lives
were lost, both German and American. It’s a sad day for a lot of families."
German police and American military police are continuing to investigate the accident.
"No one will really know what happened until the investigation is complete,"
Burke said.
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