Semi collides with Amtrak train, truck driver killed

A truck driver was killed and several passengers were injured when a semi collided with an Amtrak train in central Minnesota.

Donald Ray Hedlund Sr., 57, of Bemidji, failed to stop his tractor-trailer at a railroad crossing near Motley about 2:30 p.m. Friday, the Todd County sheriff's office said. His truck was hit by an eastbound Empire Builder train traveling from Seattle to Chicago. Hedlund died at the scene.

Two of the 181 passengers were taken to a hospital in Staples with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Several other passengers and four train workers reported minor injuries but were not hospitalized.

The semi was owned by Minnesota Limited of Big Lake, Minn., the Todd County sheriff's office said.

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