First responders remain on scene of a train that derailed in Todd County near the Trenton community, but the shelter-in-place order has been lifted as of mid-day Tuesday.
According to Trenton Fire Department Chief John Stahl, it happened just before 7 a.m. Tuesday morning and resulted in the roadway being closed at Highway 41 and Highway 475 until further notice. Crews were attempting to investigate and hazmat crews from Hopkinsville were called to help with clean up.
Stahl has said no injuries were reported as of Tuesday morning, and the train was hauling molten sulfur at the time of the derailment. Todd County Emergency Management Director Ash Groves tells WHOP News that what fire there was has since been extinguished, and air quality tests have come back clean, so they have lifted the shelter-in-place.
Both Groves and Stahl bragged on the cooperation between local agencies, private entities and the community as whole for their response to this incident. Stahl says he feels very blessed that this happened outside of Trenton—the derailment occurred just about a mile away from the main street.
There’s no timeline just yet on when the derailment might be cleaned up and the roadway fully open to traffic. Groves recommends finding alternate routes in and out of Trenton for the next few days.
Barricades and signage have been placed at KY 115 in Pembroke to divert larger vehicles towards I-24 in the south or U.S. 68 in the north.
There is currently no word on what may have caused the derailment, with CSX investigating the incident.
Photos by Dylan Shackelford