Skip to content

Train hits grader near Quick

The collision put the driver in critical condition. GoFundMe page raises over $10,000.
15624987_web1_CN-train-grader-3
A CN train collided with a road grader at the Lawson Road crossing on Feb. 19, 2019. The intersection is controlled by a stop sign. (Grant Harris/Smithers Interior News)

A man was flown to Vancouver for emergency treatment after a CN train struck a road grader east of Telkwa near Quick.

It happened as the container train was heading northwest toward Smithers at the Quick Station Road crossing near Lawson Road at about 10:30 a.m. last Tuesday.

The intersection is controlled with a stop sign. The track bends around trees as it follows the Bulkley River not far from the site of the crash.

READ MORE: Three killed in train derailment near Field, B.C.

The grader operator was badly hurt and had to be extricated by rescue personnel from Smithers and Telkwa.

He was taken to Bulkley Valley District Hospital in critical condition, and then quickly airlifted to Vancouver. He is now reported as being in stable condition.

CN staff on site did not provide any comment, but a spokesperson from its head office in Montreal said crews responded to the incident and they are now investigating. The track was closed for a time.

A WorkSafeBC spokesperson said the agency was contacted at 11:55 a.m. by the RCMP. Officers were deployed.

A GoFundMe page set up on Feb. 20 identified the victim as Lando Rosger.

In less than five days, by this paper’s Monday morning print deadline the fundraising goal of $10,000 was surpassed. The page says the goal is to help the family of five with travel costs, accommodations and lost wages.

15624987_web1_CN-train-grader-1
15624987_web1_Lando-Rosger-and-wife-Kristy
Lando Rosger and his wife Kristy. A GoFundMe page raised over $10,000 for the family of five in less than five days. (GoFundMe photo)
15624987_web1_Plow-train-Rosger-crash-map
Location of the crash southeast of Quick. (Google map)
15624987_web1_CN-train-plow-grader-Quick-crash
A CN train collided with a road grader at the Lawson Road crossing on Feb. 19. This photo was taken from the northeast side of the train, between the track and Bulkley River. (Grant Harris photo)
15624987_web1_CN-train-plow-Quick-firefighters
Firefighters at the scene of a collision between a CN train and snowplow near Quick. (Grant Harris photo)