http://www.boston.com/dailynews/319/nation/Two_people_killed_after_trains:.shtml

Two people killed after trains crash, burn northwest of Detroit; chemicals leak

By Associated Press, 11/15/2001 08:51

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) Two people were killed and two others trapped in a fiery crash between two freight trains that resulted in a chemical leak, authorities said.

The crash occurred at 6:15 a.m. in this community about 25 miles northwest of Detroit, said Sheriff's Sgt. Roy Coates. Authorities did not know what caused the crash.

People living within half a mile of the crash site were evacuated because of the risk from chemicals on the trains. It was not known what chemical had spilled, but Coates said the evacuation could be expanded.

Mary O'Daniel, whose house is near the tracks, said she heard one train pass, then another.

''As the (second) train was going through, there was a rumbling and then all of a sudden, boom, boom, boom, boom,'' she said.

The accident occurred on a track operated by Grand Trunk, a subsidiary of Canadian National railroad. The railroad did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

Firefighters reached the scene in a wooded area on foot, Coates said.

Some nearby schools were closed Thursday while authorities checked what was on the trains, Coates said.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2001