Detectives continue to investigate train derailment; reward offered

Thursday, July 9, 2009
By Nick Schneider, Assistant Editor

Indiana State Police detectives expect to wrap up their investigation early next week of an alleged vandalism case that they believe caused the derailment Wednesday of 22 loaded train cars in eastern Sullivan County.

The cars were loaded with potash and parked for long-term storage by The Indiana Rail Road Co. on a unused railroad spur of the former No. 3 Kendall Mine, near Gilmour in western Greene County.

Sgt. Joe Watts, of the Terre Haute ISP Post, told the Greene County Daily World on Thursday afternoon that there is nothing new in the ongoing investigation.

"It's under investigation right now and we don't have any identified suspects. It (the investigation) will probably be done by Tuesday," Watts stated in a telephone interview.

On Wednesday, Watts reported there were 70 top-loading hopper cars, coupled together and parked on the unused railroad spur. For some undetermined reason, the railroad cars left their parked location and traveled under their own power southwest nearly four miles to the end of the spur line in eastern Sullivan County -- crossing several county roads.

Once reaching the end of the line, the lead car hit a metal barrier at the end of the track, causing 22 of the cars to derail and overturn.

State police and railroad investigators are trying to determine if the derailment was caused by a criminal act, such as the tampering of the train car parking systems, according to Watts.

Indiana Rail Road Company spokesman Chris Rund said the company believes a criminal act was committed and the company is offering a $20,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.

Rund said the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Transportation Security Administration responded on Wednesday and is working with ISP.

"We're treating this as a criminal investigation at this point. The preliminary indications are there is a very strong possibility of tampering of equipment that caused this," Rund noted.

He said the immediate focus is on clean up.

"Clean up is the focus right now," he said. "We (Indiana Rail Road Company) have a team down there working as well as the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the manufacturer of the potash."

Rund explained that potash is not a hazardous material. It's used as a crop fertilizer and as an additive in some animal feeds.

"We do need to get it cleaned up. It's in a very difficult and challenging area where this occurred."

Questions concerning the reward should be directed to Wabash Valley Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Anyone with information in the case is urged to contact the lead investigator, ISP Detective Sam Stearley, at the Terre Haute Post by calling (812) 299-1153.

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Maybe it was the ones who derailed the cars in Linton. Yeah, you know who you are...

-- Posted by Dtown on Thu, Jul 9, 2009, at 6:04 PM

$20,000? That amount of money should make someone talk.

-- Posted by L A on Thu, Jul 9, 2009, at 9:00 PM

Oh please it wasn't those same boys that derailed the cars in Linton. I'm sure they have all GROWN up and moved away.

-- Posted by thegirl on Thu, Jul 9, 2009, at 9:56 PM

The one question that begs to be asked is how was someone able to release the brakes and why were locked derailers not used on the tracks on the down grade end of the stored cars? Storing cars a remote area with a grade present it seems to be negligence on the railroads part not to have had locked derailers installed. I hope whoever did this is caught but the railroad needs to own up to their culpability and take corrective action in the future.

-- Posted by keninman on Fri, Jul 10, 2009, at 4:56 AM

If you ask me, it was probably a railroad oversight that is at the root of the dilemma.

-- Posted by dennisb1953 on Fri, Jul 10, 2009, at 7:44 AM

Anyone can release the brakes on the cars all they got to do is turn the hand brakes and bleed off the air and since they were pretty much on a hill they just rolled untill they hit where the tracks washed out.....and why would they have derailers on that track anyway since it was only used for a siding

-- Posted by unreal6111 on Sat, Jul 11, 2009, at 9:14 PM