REEVESVILLE -- Despite temperatures in the high 90s Thursday, there was ice on the ground in Reevesville -- lots of it.

A delivery truck from B&G Ice of Orangeburg had just finished a delivery at Shuman Foods in Reevesville about 8 a.m. and was crossing the railroad track in front of the business when a CSX train struck the rear portion of the vehicle, sending more than 1,800 bags of ice flying.

Richie Shuman, owner of the large warehouse food store, said the truck driver had already made his delivery and was heading back out to U.S. 78.

"He was almost home free across the tracks when the rear of the truck was hit, tearing the truck apart," Shuman said.

Lance Cpl. Paul Brouthers, a spokesman for the South Carolina Highway Patrol, said the driver will be charged with failure to yield the right-of-way, adding that the crash appeared to be another instance of a motorist trying to beat a train across a railroad crossing.

The delivery truck was demolished, and the train traveled another half mile before it could stop. Both the truck driver and a passenger in the truck were taken to Columbia Trident Medical Center, and Shuman said he'd heard that both would be okay.

The bags of ice, along with truck debris, were thrown across the road and down the track. CSX officials were called to inspect the train's engine, which was damaged during the crash. The train was pronounced fit to continue on to Charleston, and it resumed its trip shortly after 10 a.m.

James Weber of CSX inspected the train for damage. He said that while the crossing was marked, it had no bells, with the sight line for motorists being about 1,000 feet at the site of the crash.

Weber said that there's not much that train engineers can do when they see a crash coming except begin to brake, drop to the floor and hope the train doesn't derail.

T&D Correspondent Stephanie Pietrowski can be reached by e-mail at SPietro122@aol.com or by phone at 843-636-9005.

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