'Everything just flew off the walls' Train crashes into convenience store

[E.M. Bell]

ANCASTER -- A slow-moving train backed off railroad tracks near downtown and crashed into a convenience store Wednesday afternoon, injuring a customer and leaving three other men shaken up.

The train engineer apparently didn't heed an order to stop as he backed up on an offloading track, the head of the local railroad company said. Three cars rolled through a dirt barrier and struck Buy-Rite Discount Beverage and Cigarettes, which sits about 30 feet from where the rail line dead ends.

Four people were inside at the time. Quick thinking by one of them, store owner Johnny Martin, may have prevented the wreck from being worse.

An elderly customer, Dewey Honeycutt, appeared to go into shock moments after the impact, Martin said. Fearing the building was about to collapse, Martin grabbed Honeycutt and dragged him outside.

"We're just lucky we got out alive," said Tony Preslar, another customer inside. "The whole ceiling was coming down. Then, the store started to shake and shimmer."

Authorities said Honeycutt was flown to Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia. His condition was unavailable Wednesday night.

The train was only moving about 1 mph, officials estimated, but it generated enough momentum to lodge about 8 feet inside Buy-Rite, a popular gathering place where locals drink free coffee in the mornings.

"It felt like an earthquake," said Bruce Hilton, who stopped in to buy a Powerball ticket. "Everything just flew off the walls. Johnny told us to get out."

Late Wednesday, a railroad crew brought in a locomotive and crane to remove the lodged car from the store, which was leaning heavily toward its front.

The president of the Lancaster & Chester Railway said Wednesday night an improper maneuver appeared to lead to the wreck.

"We caused the accident," said L&C President Stephen Gedney. "We'll be rebuilding it (the store) for him if that's what he wants to do."

Gedney said more talks with the train's crew will be needed to pinpoint an exact cause. One possible outcome, he said, is that L&C will stop using the offloading track because of its proximity to the store.

The wreck caused quite a stir around town. Dozens showed up past nightfall to take pictures of the unusual sight. "Probably about as much excitement as you'll get in downtown Lancaster," said Chris Duncan, a local businessman.

But the scene also served as a reminder of the danger posed by railroads operating close to businesses and people.

Two years ago in Graniteville, a Norfolk Southern train veered off the main track onto a spur, rear-ending a parked train. The wreck ruptured a car carrying chlorine and released a poisonous cloud over the tiny mill town, killing nine and injuring 250 people. Some 5,400 people were evacuated.

The car involved in the Lancaster wreck was carrying plastic pellets not considered hazardous.

Still, Gedney pointed out, "Railroad is a very unforgiving industry to be in."

[JCagle]

They demolished the store today. It seems it was a place everybody in the community came out to see both the aftermath last night and the store being torn down.  Evidently the railroad has told the owner of the store why the cut started rolling, but he's not saying a word.

[Tweetsiefireman]

Lets just say it was an "interesting" day this accident occured on.