Driver dies after Benton County train collides with semi

A 66-year-old semi driver died Wednesday after a semi verses train crash west of Plymouth in Benton County.

Benton County Fire District #6 Chief Rolland Watt described the scene when he arrived on Christy Road.

"Multiple fires along the railroad tracks under the train, part of the semi tractor under the engine of the train and about a mile east I found the rest of the semi and the cab," says Watt.

Watts says semi driver Ronald Slagg was taken to the hospital by Life Flight where he later died.

The fires were caused by the truck being dragged by the train and the diesel fuel leaking, all the flames were quickly put out. He says Hazmat was called out initially but the train did not derail and none of the equipment on the train fell off or leaked.

Officials with the Benton County Sheriff Department and WSP are still working to investigate what lead up to the accident. Watt says the railroad crossing where the crash happened only had a stop sign and no crossing arms.