By TruckCrash News Desk · Published July 23, 2026 · Updated if authorities revise details
What Happened
A freight train slammed into a semi-truck that had become stuck on the tracks at the 76th Avenue crossing near Chicago Drive in Zeeland Township late Wednesday night, tearing the trailer apart but injuring no one, according to reports from WHTC News and FOX 17 citing the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office.
The semi-truck became lodged on the railway crossing after making a turn, FOX 17 reported. The driver, described by WHTC as a 61-year-old man from Hart, was able to get out of the cab before the collision. An eastbound CSX freight train then struck the trailer at around 10:20 to 10:30 p.m., splitting it in half and disabling the train’s lead engine, according to the reports.
No injuries were reported. The train’s crew members were unharmed, WHTC reported. An Ottawa County hazardous-materials team responded to the scene because of a potential fuel leak from the damaged locomotive, according to FOX 17.
It was the second train crash reported along the Chicago Drive corridor in as many days. On Tuesday afternoon, a 48-year-old Hudsonville man’s SUV was struck by a train at a business crossing off Chicago Drive between 64th and 56th avenues, leaving him with minor injuries, WHTC reported. Reporting: WHTC News and FOX 17, with information from the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office.
The Investigation: What Happens Next
The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating, and CSX is conducting its own review, according to WHTC. In grade-crossing collisions involving commercial trucks, investigators typically look at why the truck came to be on the tracks — including the geometry of the crossing, the trailer’s ground clearance, and the route the driver was taking — along with statements from the driver and the train crew.
Freight locomotives generally carry event recorders and, in many cases, forward-facing cameras that can establish the train’s speed, horn use, and braking in the seconds before impact. Neither agency has released findings, and no citations or fault determinations have been reported.
The Legal Picture
Who could be responsible in crashes like this? Grade-crossing crashes involving semi-trucks can raise questions for several parties in general: the motor carrier and its driver, whose route planning and crossing decisions matter; the railroad, which operates the train and maintains its equipment; and the entities responsible for crossing design, signage, and warning devices. Commercial trucking cases in particular are governed by their own layer of federal safety rules — a topic covered in depth by our Michigan truck accident guide.
What evidence tends to matter? In crashes like this, the most important records tend to be the locomotive’s event recorder and camera footage, the truck’s electronic logging device and GPS data, dispatch and routing records, crossing inspection and maintenance files, and witness accounts fixing where each vehicle was as the gates or signals activated.
What Michigan rules apply? Michigan’s no-fault system generally covers injury-related economic losses through personal injury protection benefits regardless of fault, while claims over property damage and serious injuries follow different rules — see our plain-English overview of Michigan no-fault insurance. Because no one was reported hurt here, the aftermath is likely to center on cargo, equipment, and infrastructure losses.
Nothing in this section is a statement about who was at fault in this specific crash. Responsibility is a legal question that depends on the full investigation, and no assumptions should be made about any driver, company, or agency involved.
This Stretch of Road
Chicago Drive runs alongside an active CSX freight corridor as it passes through Zeeland Township between Hudsonville and Zeeland, and the numbered north–south avenues in the area — including 76th Avenue — cross the tracks at grade. As WHTC noted, this was the second collision between a train and a vehicle along that corridor in two days, following Tuesday’s crash at a business crossing between 64th and 56th avenues.
Grade crossings that sit close to a parallel roadway can leave long vehicles with limited storage space between the road and the tracks, a configuration federal safety agencies have long flagged as a risk factor for trucks with low ground clearance or long trailers. Whether any of those factors played a role at 76th Avenue has not been determined.
If You Saw This Crash
Investigators often rely on witnesses to reconstruct the minutes before a grade-crossing collision — including how long the truck was stopped on the tracks and what warning devices were doing. Anyone who saw Wednesday night’s crash or the moments leading up to it can contact the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office to share what they observed.
- WHTC News — Second Train Crash Along Chicago Dr. Reported
- FOX 17 — Road cleared after train hits semi-truck stuck on track in Zeeland Township
About TruckCrash News. TruckCrash News tracks and reports on truck and traffic crashes across Michigan every day, so that families, commuters, and safety advocates can see what is happening on our roads. Coverage is compiled from official releases and credible local reporting, and stories are corrected if authorities revise their accounts.
Informational content only — not legal advice and not a solicitation. This article reports publicly available information and does not create an attorney-client relationship.