UPDATE: The driver of the semi-truck who died in the crash has been identified as 66-year-old Jeffery S. Blankenheim of Kewaskum, says the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office.
ORIGINAL REPORTING: A 66-year-old Kewaskum driver of a semi-truck died in the crash and derailment of a train in Sheboygan County.
Sheboygan County dispatchers received a 911 call about the crash between a semi-truck hauling a tanker full of liquid manure and a train in the W5100 block of Abbott Dr. in the Town of Sherman.
When the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office arrived on the scene the semi was in a ditch near the tracks and on its side. There was only a yield sign at the crossing at Abbott Dr. and the crash caused six of the 22 cars on the train to derail.
The driver of the semi was pronounced dead at the scene. There were no other reported injuries.
Abbott Dr. will be closed from West of State Highway 57. Traffic entering from the West on Abbott Dr. will be re-routed to turn South on Allen Rd.
The closure could last several days depending on how long repairs take, according to a release by SCSO.
The crash is being investigated by the Wisconsin State Patrol. The SCSO, Sheboygan County Highway Department, Sheboygan County Hazmat Team, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Orange Cross Ambulance and fire departments from Random Lake, Silver Creek and Plymouth all assisted in the incident.
Department of Transportation records show three prior incidents at the crossing in the 80s — 1980, 1987 and 1989.
This story will be updated as we learn more.
