A Kenworth tractor-trailer failed to hyield to an oncoming Norfolk Southern train on the railroad tracks along Veterans Memorial Parkway east of Archer Road in Warren County.
The semi driver was …
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A Kenworth tractor-trailer failed to yield to an oncoming Norfolk Southern train on the railroad tracks along Veterans Memorial Parkway east of Archer Road in Warren County.
The semi driver was airlifted to Mercy Hospital St. Louis. No additional information on the driver's condition was available.
The crash occurred at 12:35 p.m. June 30.
Per the crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 54-year-old Kevin D. Hofelich failed to yield to the oncoming train. There is no signal at the railroad crossing. Only white railroad crossing signs are displayed.
This is the third serious accident involving a train and a car in that general area since December.
In December 2022, a dump truck was hit by a train at the Archer Road crossing, which also does not have any lights or arms to alert drivers to the oncoming train.
In April 2023, an 80-year-old man was killed when his pick-up truck was struck by a train at the same intersection.
The Archer Road crossing and the crossing where the semi was struck June 30 are both near the site of the new American Foods Group beef processing facility.
The Warren County Record spoke to a Norfolk Southern representative in May about the Archer Road intsersection, who said it would be up to Warren County and the Missouri Department of Transportation to install signals at any crossing.
The June 30 accident also caused significant traffic backups on both westbound and eastbound Interstate 70 in Foristell and Wright City. Those traffic backups also caused traffic backups on Interstate 64 near Lake St. Louis as drivers were unable to easily merge on to I-70 west.
No additional crashes on either interstate were reported by the Missouri State Highway Patrol as of 12:25 p.m. July 1.
About the author: Jason Koch is the editor of The Warren County Record, and covers local news and government for the newspaper. He has won multiple awards from both the Indiana and Illinois APME and from the Illinois Press Association. He can be reached at 636-456-6397 or at jason@warrencountyrecord.com
