Man airlifted to hospital after train hits truck in Freeborn County

A man was taken to a hospital after a train hit a truck in Freeborn County Tuesday morning.

The Freeborn County Sheriff's Office said a Union Pacific train engineer reported his train had hit a pickup truck at about 9:54 a.m.

Deputies, along with Minnesota State Patrol, Glenville Fire and paramedics, responded to the railroad crossing on 120th Street, near Highway 65, and found a Ram pickup truck in a ditch on the west side of the tracks with a man inside.

The sheriff's office said Gary Walstrom was driving the truck east on 120th Street when he came to the yield sign near the train tracks.

The engineer told deputies the train was headed north at about 35 to 40 mph when approaching 120th Street, and he sounded the train's whistle. The engineer added that Walstrom's truck slowed and appeared as if it was stopping, but then continued into the crossing where the train hit the passenger side of the truck.

According to the sheriff's office, the train pushed the truck about 60 to 75 feet before coming to a stop, and the truck came to rest in the ditch.

Walstrom was removed from the truck without requiring extrication and was then airlifted to a hospital. His condition is unclear.