LEE COUNTY, Ill. — Lee County officials spent several hours cleaning up debris after a train collided with a semi-truck Monday afternoon, according to a press release.
Around 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 15, the Lee County Sheriff's Office learned about a Union Pacific Railroad train hitting a tractor-trailer near Willow Road and Track Road, just east of the village of Franklin Grove. According to the release, deputies learned that the driver had possibly jumped out of the semi's cab before the collision.
The driver, who has been identified as Carlos Rivera Rodriguez, 35, of Mexico, works for Olvera Freight and was leaving the Crest Foods plant in Ashton with a load of Hamburger Helper products. According to authorities, the semi was traveling southbound along Willow Road when it became hung up at the railway crossing. The snowy conditions appeared to play a role in how the semi was hit.
Rodriguez was transported to a nearby hospital for minor injuries. Dabney Services assisted in cleaning up debris spread around the area, which took several hours.
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