A Morrill County Roads Department employee suffered critical injuries about 9:30 Saturday morning when his road grader was hit by a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train.
The accident occurred on a crossing over a county road northwest of Bridgeport. Both crew members on the train were unhurt.
Morrill County Sheriff Milo Cardenas told KNEB News the grader operator had been clearing snow from a minimum maintenance and that the cause of the accident remains under investigation.
Sheriff Cardenas said his deputies are working with the BNSF on both the collision and the events leading up to it, including video from the lead locomotive.
Response to the scene was hampered by the isolated location, heavy and slick road conditions.
Cardenas says the grader operator was taken by ambulance first to Morrill County Community Hospital in Bridgeport, then transferred to Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, where he was reported in critical condition on Sunday..