Friday, June 17th, 2022
Train-semi crash in store
No one hurt in downtown collision
By Leslie Gartrell
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Local police officers and firefighters respond to a train and semitrailer accident on Main Street in Coldwater at 11:21 a.m. Thursday.
COLDWATER - No injuries were reported after a train collided with a semitrailer on Thursday, causing heavy damage to The Mr. Shoppe and a nearby car.
The store will remain open today from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. to serve existing customers for the seven weddings planned for this weekend.
Coldwater police responded to a call of a crash at West Main Street and First Street at 11:21 a.m., Sgt. Kevin Wynk said Thursday.
Kwaku Wiredu, 44, Columbus, was operating a 2019 Alimco semitrailer eastbound on West Main Street, according to a Coldwater Police Department news release. Wiredu was stopped in traffic west of the railroad crossing at West Main Street and First Street, Wynk said.
Kent Jones, 54, Fort Recovery, was conducting a 1978 General Motors train northeast on the RJ Corman railroad tracks, according to the release.
The train struck the semitrailer after Wiredu proceeded east through the railroad crossing, Wynk said. The trailer was pushed into The Mr. Shoppe, 204 W. Main St., causing signifiant damage.
The trailer of the semitrailer sustained disabling damage while the train sustained minor damage, per the release. An unoccupied vehicle on North First Street also sustained functional damage.
Wynk said the crash is the first recorded accident for RJ Corman since it acquired the railroad tracks in the late '80s or early '90s. He noted the railroad crossing lights and signals were working at the time of the accident, and Jones had used his horn multiple times before impact.
Village administrator Eric Thomas said trains typically pass through the village at speeds between 5-10 mph. Less than 200 trains pass through the village each year, Thomas said.
Wiredu was cited for failure to yield at a railroad grade crossing, according to the release.
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
A train-semitrailer accident Thursday in Coldwater destroyed a corner of The Mr. Shoppe men's store on Main Street. The train is visible through a huge hole in the store's wall.
Mr. Shoppe Owner Gary Bruns said he was unloading products on the east side of the store when he heard a loud boom.
"I heard this loud boom and I looked to my left and saw a white semitrailer heading right toward me," Bruns said. "Thank God when I heard this big boom I started to run to the alley (behind the the building)."
Two Mr. Shoppe staff members and two customers, including a pregnant woman, were in the store at the time of the accident, he said.
Bruns pointed out the train was moving slowly, saying the semitrailer driver probably thought he could make it through the railroad crossing in time.
However, traffic was backed up and the trailer was partially on the tracks when it was struck by the train, according to Bruns.
While no injuries were reported, the business owner said a village employee was given a scare when a clothed mannequin buried beneath the rubble was briefly mistaken for Bruns.
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
A mannequin lies among the rubble at The Mr. Shoppe in Coldwater, a victim of a train-semitrailer collision.
Bruns said he wanted to thank village officials for quickly cleaning the scene of the accident and Kevin Schwieterman, who installed boards and secured the building until further repairs can be made.
Bruns added a friend suggested having a "train wreck sale" in light of the accident and said he might have an annual sale on June 16 to memorialize the incident.
Also assisting were St. Henry Police Department, Mercer County Sheriff's Office, Coldwater Fire Department, Coldwater EMS, Ohio State Highway Patrol Motor Enforcement Carrier Unit, Mercer County EMA, MCERV and the Coldwater street department.
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
The Mr. Shoppe was badly damaged after a semitrailer crashed into the building after colliding with a train.
