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Deputies investigate train accident [UPDATED]
Published 9:14am Tuesday, September 11, 2012 Updated 11:15am Tuesday, September 11, 2012An Akeley man is being investigated for DWI and leaving the scene of an accident charges after a car he was in was hit by a train near Bluffton on Sunday.
According to the county sheriff’s office, the accident happened around 4:45 a.m. A four-door Lincoln passenger car had been parked near the intersection of U.S. Highway 10 and 620th Avenue in between some eastbound and westbound railroad tracks. In appears the car was partially in the path of the westbound tracks, and a BNSF train struck it. The railroad then called law enforcement.
When deputies arrived, they found the car but couldn’t locate anyone. After searching the area for about seven hours and alerting the family, the car’s registered owner, Harold Hartwig Jr., 31, was found about five miles away by family members. Hartwig suffered a few minor injuries but refused medical treatment. He allegedly stated that he was the vehicle’s passenger at the time of the accident, but deputies said there was no evidence to suggest that anyone else was in the car at the time of the accident.
The case is still under investigation.
