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Truck Collides With Train In Rosedale Over 1 Year After Explosion There

ROSEDALE, Md. (WJZ) -- It's happened again. A truck collided with a CSX train at the same Rosedale rail crossing where a collision last year caused a train carrying chemicals to explode. Now people in that area are worried about safety.

Meghan McCorkell has more on their concerns.

Investigators have charged the driver of the truck in Tuesday's incident for failing to stop as she crossed the railroad tracks---a problem some say is happening too often.

Surveillance video captured the moment a garbage truck collided with a train in Rosedale just after 8 a.m. Tuesday. Investigators say the truck driver, 44-year-old Ramona Jones, never stopped as she crossed the tracks.

It's the same crossing where a collision between a truck and a train triggered a massive chemical explosion 15 months ago.

"I don't think I could have taken it again because it's almost a year to get back together," said Jim Whitlock, U.A. Local 486

Tuesday's incident hit close to home for Whitlock. His office at the Plumbers and Steamfitters' training facility was destroyed by that explosion. Repairs were completed just three weeks ago.

"They're not paying attention when they don't stop properly for the railroad tracks," he said.

Workers in this area say they often see trucks driving across these railroad tracks without stopping---but train conductors are trying to improve safety.

"It seems they blow the whistle more often and they're vocal when they come through so this kind of stuff doesn't happen," Whitlock said.

In a statement to WJZ, CSX officials say, "Safety is a core value at CSX, one that factors into every decision the company makes regarding its employees, customers and the communities it serves."

The NTSB is investigating the 2013 explosion.

"If we see that there are areas that need to be improved, we can and we will issue safety recommendations," NTSB investigator Robert Sumwalt said last May.

A final report has not yet been released.

In a preliminary report, the NTSB faulted truck driver John Alban Jr. in that crash last year. He has since been found guilty of numerous traffic violations.

The train involved in Tuesday's incident is designed to carry orange juice but the cars were empty at the time of the collision.

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