Sleeping man hit by a train when his truck rolls onto some tracks in Benton County

A freight train slammed into a camper’s pickup that was partly on the tracks early Memorial Day, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.

The 28-year-old man inside was flown to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland and is expected to survive, according to sheriff’s reports.

A father and son had gone camping in a remote area of the county along the Columbia River a couple of miles from McNary Dam in southern Benton County.

They were rained on during the night and the son got into the pickup to get warm.

He fell asleep and the pickup apparently rolled down a hill shortly before 4 a.m., coming to a stop with the front end on the railroad tracks, said Benton County Sgt. John Thompson.

The train crashed into the front end of the pickup, pushing the truck off the tracks and causing it to roll.

Railroad employees on the BNSF train traveling between Chicago and Portland reported the collision to law enforcement.

There were no injuries to the crew and minimal damage to the locomotive, according to BNSF. There was no derailment.

The name of the 28-year-old was not immediately available on Monday. He may have been visiting from the Boise area, according to law enforcement reports.

This story was originally published May 27, 2019 at 1:57 PM.