CSX Corp. is suing a garbage truck driver and his company for negligence in a May 28 derailment and subsequent explosion of a freight train in a Baltimore suburb, and is seeking at least $225,000 in damages, the Associated Press reported.
CSX, which filed the complaint this week in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, alleges that John Alban Jr. caused the derailment by failing to stop at a railroad crossing in the Rosedale section of Baltimore County.
The complaint says Alban and his company, Alban Waste, were familiar with the crossing because the business is located near the tracks, AP reported.
“Alban was under a statutory and common law duty to slow and stop the truck and exercise due care, including by looking and listening, to ensure the tracks were clear of approaching trains and that the crossing could be traversed safely,” the lawsuit said.