Train Hits Semi In LaGrange Illinois - Video

[Igel]

13. I imagine that the trailer was sheared off at the hitch.

The "tractor" was tilted and returned to upright, the "trailer" relatively trashed. It would resist acceleration (hey, inertia!). So would the trailer, but torque and shear would have something to say about it.

Note that the trailer crumpled, didn't see that it was actually ripped open.

Those signs that say not to stop on RR tracks ... They're not kidding. They give a distance, observe it. Those engines are massive and require stopping time, speed dependent, but still more time than you'd think. Newton's laws will not be denied. Push it too hard with that impulse, that outside force, you might cause a derailment and that would often be worse.