Burns Man Killed After Pickup Slams Into Stopped Train East of Cheyenne

Cowboy State Daily and Cap City News contributed to this report.

A Burns man is dead after his pickup slammed into the side of a stopped Union Pacific train Friday evening on County Road 154, just north of Interstate 80 east of Cheyenne — a crash one local described simply as “a pretty bad deal.”

The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office has identified the driver as 45-year-old John Balczewski. Deputies say he was not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene.

The crash happened around 5:20 p.m. Friday at the railroad crossing near Egbert Road. According to the sheriff’s office, Balczewski was driving north on County Road 154 when his truck hit the side of a stationary train that was already stopped on the tracks.

Investigators say the crossing gate was down, and the warning lights were flashing at the time of the collision.

Sheriff’s office public information officer Brandon Warner said an investigation is underway to determine exactly what happened — including whether Balczewski drove into the train intentionally or accidentally.

The crew on the train was not hurt, Union Pacific spokesman Mike Jaixen said in an email.

Laramie County resident Jeska Smith, 35, happened upon the scene shortly after the crash while driving with her 13-year-old son to her grandmother’s house.

She shared a short video with Cowboy State Daily that shows the train parked across the road in the dark, with more than half a dozen emergency vehicles clustered around it, lights flashing.

“As we approached, we noticed that the vehicle had hit the side of the train car,” Smith said. “It was a pretty bad deal.”

Smith said she tried to drive around the wreck, but emergency vehicles were blocking the road. She pulled into a nearby driveway and watched as a medical helicopter landed to assist.

She said she crosses those tracks often and has never noticed any problems with the warning lights or crossing arms.

“It’s a sad memory, and my son was shaken up,” she said. “We have grown up in that area, and we have always been taught to look twice, even if the crossing arms are up.”

According to the Wyoming Department of Transportation, this is the first fatal crash in at least five years in the state involving a vehicle and a train.

WYDOT spokesman Doug McGee said there are 391 public railroad crossings in Wyoming. Of those:

• 221 have gates and flashing lights;
• 45 have flashing lights only;
• 121 use yield signs and the traditional “crossbuck” railroad sign;
• 4 have stop signs and crossbucks.

“Crashes involving vehicles and trains at those crossings are very rare,” McGee said.

The sheriff’s office says the investigation into the County Road 154 crash is ongoing and more details will be released as they become available.