Cleanup, repairs expected to finish Friday night after 26 rail cars derail on Clark County railroad

MAD RIVER TWP., Clark County — UPDATE @ 3:55 p.m. (May 13)

Cleanup continued Friday after over two dozen rail cars derailed from the tracks on a Clark County railroad Thursday evening.

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Twenty-six rail cars were involved in the derailment on a railroad near Lower Valley Pike and Old Mill Road in Mad River Twp. around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, according to firefighters.

The rail cars that derailed were carrying new passenger cars and scrap medal. Hazmat crews and drones were called to the scene to assess the damage. Firefighters determined there was no release of any hazardous materials and there was no environmental impact to the area, Mad River Fire Department Interim Fire Chief Joh Heath said in a media release Friday.

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New cars shown to be part of derailed boxcar's cargo

“Norfolk Southern crews as well as our contractors have been on-site and continue to work to re-rail cars and work toward reopening the track, which we hope to have done by the end of the day (Friday),” Connor Spielmaker, Norfolk Southern spokesperson said in a statement to News Center 7.

The derailment happened in a residential area and neighbors described the chaotic scene with cleanup lasting throughout the day.

“It’s wild…all night till 4 o’clock in the morning almost,” Matt Anderson said. “Honestly glad that it didn’t crash into our house or anything like that.”

While the railroad cleanup and repairs are expected to finish Friday, an estimated time for completion wasn’t immediately known.

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