Backhoe driver survives fall onto active train track in Forest
Alissa Smith Jun 16, 2017



FOREST — A Friday afternoon wreck involving a backhoe and an Amtrak train left one injured and forced the Virginia Department of Transportation to close Bellevue Road Bridge until Monday.

An unidentified man was driving a backhoe north on Bellevue Road when he lost control, Virginia State Police Public Information Officer Rick Garletts said. ... "The rear of the backhoe started chattering, started skipping, so he couldn't get full braking out of the backhoe," Garletts said. ... The backhoe then went through the bridge railing, falling about 30 feet onto the railroad tracks below. ... The backhoe, with the man still inside, was sideswiped by the train after it fell off the bridge, Garletts said.
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The bridge is closed due to guardrail damage and VDOT’s ongoing investigation into the bridge’s structural integrity.

Bedford County Fire and Rescue Chief Jack Jones Jr. said the call came in to emergency dispatchers at about 2:17 p.m., with multiple agencies responding, including the Campbell County Rescue Squad, Forest Volunteer Fire Department and Big Island Volunteer Fire Department. ... The Virginia State Police, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Norfolk Southern, Virginia Department of Transportation and English Construction also were on scene.