Pittsfield driver OK after truck-train crash

PITTSFIELD – Inattention caused Dennis Deal, 45, of Pittsfield to take his eyes off the road Saturday morning just as he approached a railroad crossing on Industrial Park Road, according to police. The crossing has lights but no crossing gates, and Deal apparently didn’t hear the train’s whistle.

After failing to stop as a train passed through the crossing, Deal slammed his Ford pickup truck into the ladder at the rear of the first engine of the eastbound locomotive. “The train caught the front of his truck, spun him sideways and off the road into a ditch,” said Pittsfield Officer Larry Bennett. “The truck was destroyed.”

Deal was able to walk away from the crash with only a fractured hand, said Bennett. He was taken by private vehicle to Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield for treatment.

Bennett said the train was forced to stop because of the crash but was not damaged and was able to resume its route.