‘Boom! Blew up right there’: Train slammed into semi in Grovetown, railroad back open

GROVETOWN, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said the railroad crossing at Old Wrightsboro Road and Katherine Street is back open after a train hit an 18-wheeler stuck on the tracks.

The 18-wheeler was blown apart and dragged by the train that hit it on the tracks in Grovetown on Friday afternoon – but amazingly, no one was injured.

WATCH: RAILROAD OPENS BACK UP

The semi, a McLane food-service delivery truck, was trying to cross the railroad tracks when it got stuck on a hump.

Then the train came along just after 12:35 p.m.

Although the train wasn’t moving at a high speed, the front of the truck was torn apart.

“You could hear the train, see the train coming. I didn’t really think it was going to hit the truck, but that thing, you know, boom, blew up right there,” said Joshua Lovett, who saw it from outside the Walgreens across the street.

PHOTO GALLERY: AT THE SCENE OF TRAIN-TRUCK CRASH

The driver apparently got out of the truck after it became stuck, since the railroad described the truck as unoccupied.

“No injuries have been reported, however the cleanup is going to take a while,” Police Chief Jamey Kitchens said.

The train didn’t derail, and it started moving away from the scene shortly after 3:35 p.m.

Kitchens said there are no hazardous materials issues and tow trucks were en route.

Traffic was being diverted.

WATCH: PASSENGER GETS VIDEO OF TRAIN SLAMMING INTO TRUCK

People familiar with the area said trucks get stuck there often. A yellow sign in front of the crossing says, “No trucks.”

A neighbor said trucks get stuck so often that the city should do something about it.

He blamed the “truck stands” that project from the bottom of the trailer, saying they get stuck on the hump at the crossing.

WATCH: HERE’S A VIEW OF TRAIN SLAMMING INTO TRUCK

Possibly knowing what might happen, several people recorded videos of the truck stuck on the track before the crash.

That’s what caught the attention of the witness at Walgreens.

“I was coming out of Walgreens. I had to come get me some milk this morning because, you know, my wife ain’t cooking breakfast. So I was getting some milk, come to my car and I seen the truck sitting on the track – because it was just sitting on the track,“ Lovett said.

And then the crash happened.

Besides the truck being torn apart, much of its cargo was strewn beside the tracks.

That apparently left some sandwich eaters hungry.

Two workers from the Subway in Harlem showed up at the crash scene and said the truck had their food inside.

They were right. Salami was spilling out of boxes along the tracks.

But they weren’t allowed to retrieve the food.

“Absolutely not!” one of the workers said she was told.

WATCH: DOORBELL CAM CATCHES TRAIN SLAMMING INTO TRUCK

CSX confirmed no one was hurt on the train.

“The cause of the incident is currently under investigation,” the railroad told News 12.