Trains collide near Mirror Lake Road, crewman injured

BONNERS FERRY — A railroad crewman received minor injuries after two trains collided on a Union Pacific track on Monday shortly before noon near Mirror Lake Road west in Boundary County.

“There were no derailments and no life-threatening injuries. Mirror Lake Road reopened later Monday afternoon; the cause of the incident remains under investigation,” Mike Jaixen, senior manager of communications, told the Herald. 

Boundary County Dispatch was notified of the head-on collision between the two trains on the road, located about a half-mile west of Bonners Ferry.

The two trains collided head-on at an estimated 17 miles per hour, injuring one crewman on board, Andrew O'Neel, Boundary County public information officer, said. It is unclear the age or hometown of the injured crewman, who was taken to a local hospital for what was described as a wrist injury.

One train carried grain and the other was pulling empty log cars. Both trains remained fully on the tracks and no cargo or fuel was spilled, O’Neel said.

Mirror Lake Road will continue to be blocked by the trains on the tracks until Union Pacific is done with its investigation. Access from the south on Pine Island Road and access from the north on Riverside Road are unimpeded.

North Bench Fire was dispatched to the scene along with mutual aid from Boundary Ambulance, South Boundary Fire, Paradise Valley Fire and Boundary County Emergency Management.