Ephrata man injured in truck, train crash
Emergency rescue workers investigate the scene of a train and truck collision near Warden on Thursday. An Ephrata man was injured and survived the crash.
WARDEN - An Ephrata man escaped with only a few broken bones after reportedly driving his pickup truck into a train Thursday night near Warden.
Ed Lamens, 62, was reportedly driving his 2006 Chevrolet pickup pulling a flatbed trailer when he collided with a Columbia Basin Railroad train about 4:40 p.m.
Lamens was heading west on Road 3 Southeast, just east of Road S Southeast, when he collided with the second engine of the train, according to the sheriff's office.
The train, pulling 14 cars as it headed south from Moses Lake toward Warden, already cleared the intersection when Lamens' truck hit the engine.
Lamens was injured in the incident. He was flown by MedStar to Kadlec Medical Center in Richland. He was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt.
Lamens' pickup truck was reported totaled.
The train engineer, conductor, and brakeman were not injured. The sheriff's office Motor Traffic Unit is investigating the cause of the incident.
A section of Road 3 was blocked off for several hours as deputies investigated.