Railroad identifies 2 killed, 2 injured

No word on why 2 trains collided

Union Pacific officials on Monday identified the two workers killed and two workers injured in a fiery, head-on collision Sunday of two of the company's freight trains in Hoxie.

Engineer Chance Gober of White Hall and conductor Roderick Hayes of McKinney, Texas, were killed while their train traveled southbound about 3 a.m. Sunday, spokesman Jeff Degraff said.

Engineer Michael Zampakos of Maumelle and conductor Aaron Jeffery of Conway were seriously injured in the northbound train and taken to a hospital. The injuries were not life-threatening, Degraff said.

Degraff said Monday that he could not provide additional information on the workers' ages or tenure with the company or the injured workers' conditions.

The National Transportation Safety Board has taken over the investigation, but spokesman Terry Williams said Monday that he could not provide additional information about how the collision occurred.

Photographs from the scene show parallel tracks near the point of collision. Lawrence County Sheriff Jody Dotson said the trains were on the same track, but he did not know further details.

The freight trains carried an assortment of chemicals, some considered hazardous, and several train cars burst into flames Sunday. The blaze prompted an eight-hour evacuation of residents in a 1.5-mile radius.

Dotson said only cars carrying an alcoholic beverage spilled, although he didn't know what the beverage was.

Sheriff's office deputies began knocking on doors between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m., Dotson said. The American Red Cross provided meals and shelter to more than 100 evacuees at the Walnut Ridge Community Center.

Residents were allowed to go back home sometime between 11 a.m. and noon.

Meanwhile, the fire, described by one witness as being visible from miles away, prompted help from sheriff's and fire departments in neighboring counties.

"We're just very thankful for all the help we received from our neighbors," Dotson said.

All roads closed Sunday were open again late Sunday, aside from U.S. 67 between Hoxie and Alicia in Lawrence County, adjacent to the collision site. Dotson said a Monday afternoon meeting to discuss cleanup activities and re-opening the road was canceled, but he thought it would open soon.

"It is just unreal how much work they had done cleaning up and everything else so ... hopefully it's not going to be more than a couple of days," Dotson said.

Metro on 08/19/2014

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