WASHINGTON (AP) — A CSX freight train derailed in Washington, D.C., on Sunday morning, sending several cars off the tracks and spilling hazardous material from three cars, emergency officials said.
No injuries were immediately reported. Doug Buchannan, a spokesman for the D.C fire department, told NBC Washington (http://bit.ly/1W0mwYc ) that as many as nine cars derailed near the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station about 7 a.m. Sunday. Emergency responders have not said what substance is leaking.
Chris Nellum said he lives nearby and his window looks directly over the tracks.
“I thought it was like a semi-truck coming toward the building and when I looked out the window, I saw cars piling up,” said Nellum, who had just moved in the night before. “So I’m not even used to hearing trains. It was jarring.”
Rhode Island Avenue was closed in both directions from 4th to 10th streets in Northeast. Nellum said his girlfriend tried to leave the area and was told to stay put, but she eventually found a way out.
“She’s an environmentalist so she is very concerned about whatever is leaking,” he said.
The Red Line’s Rhode Island Station also is closed. Metro said it would establish bus shuttle service between the NoMa and Brookland stations.
CSX and the D.C. fire department didn’t immediately return telephone and email messages from The Associated Press.
