Railroad car breaks free, taking authorities on 16-mile chase, Washington sheriff says
An empty tank car broke free from it’s locomotive and went dashing down railroad tracks across a Washington city, officials told multiple news outlets.
The rail car got loose on Jan. 25 in Walla Walla, the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office told the Union-Bulletin.
The runaway car barreled nearly 16 miles before authorities could stop it, the news outlet reported.
Walla Walla County Undersheriff Joe Klundt caught the detached car on camera traveling at a high rate of speed and shared the video on Twitter.
Railroad workers were fastening the car to the train when it was bumped and started to roll downhill, KEPR reported.
It reached speeds as high as 50 mph during the chase, the news outlet reported.
Once the tank car reached a hill, it lost momentum allowing authorities to hop on and pull the brake, KNDO reported.
No one was hurt during the incident, according to the news outlet.
This story was originally published January 27, 2022 at 12:25 PM.
