U.S. 24 in Monroe County closed following fatal train collision

MONROE COUNTY − Part of U.S. Route 24 in Monroe County will remain closed until at least Wednesday after a semi truck and train collided Sunday afternoon, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office announced Monday.

The crash resulted in one fatality. It happened three miles east of Madison along U.S. 24 East around 2:45 p.m. Madison is about 15 miles east of Moberly. 

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports the driver of the semi truck, Russell Minnis, 65, failed to stop his truck at the crossing. His vehicle then struck the Norfolk Southern train. 

Reports from the state highway patrol indicate this was not a passive crossing. 

Crews from Norfolk Southern have been on site cleaning up leftover debris from the incident, according to Monroe County Sheriff Joe Colston.

"They had several train cars that they had to move out of the way," Colston said. "There was a pretty decent size section of rail that had popped up off of the track they had to replace. Also, the asphalt at the crossing, there's a chunk of that that was missing that they're gonna have to resurface." 

Colston said the sheriff's office has been working with the Missouri Department of Transportation to help redirect traffic until crews have finished cleaning up. 

"People have several opportunities to go different directions before they actually get to the section where it's closed," Colston said. 

Some residents in the area said these detours have caused some confusion for those not from the area.

Mike Howard, who has been a Monroe County resident for 20 years, lives near a detour that is currently helping redirect traffic. He said he has seen many semi-truck drivers struggle with where to go over the last 24 hours.

"The semis will come and sit here, you know cause they know they have a detour, and they're probably looking at their GPS to see where they're going to get back to 24," Howard said. 

Howard said the detours are forcing semis to take back roads they probably are not accustomed to. 

"Pretty curvy, windy roads for a big truck," Howard said. "You can't even take a semi through our town, the roads are too tight and they can't turn and get around town."

Above all, residents in the town expressed sympathy for the truck driver and his family. 

"My heart goes out for the driver's family, you know it's just a sad deal," Howard said. 

Monroe County officials said there have already been issues with drivers moving signs and barricades. 

"Please leave the signs and barricades in place so that others who aren’t familiar with the area do not end up in the wrong location," the sheriff's office said. "There is still quite a bit of large equipment running in and out of the area so please use caution if you’re traveling near the crossing."