The engineer of a train that slammed into another train in Marion County last week told responding deputies that he'd fallen asleep before the crash.

  • 2 trains crashed in north Marion last week
  • Sheriff's Office report: Operator said he fell asleep
  • No one was seriously injured

According to a Marion County Sheriff's Office report released Tuesday, Chris Theriault, the operator of a northbound CSX train, said he'd fallen asleep before the train slammed into a southbound CSX train near Citra.

No one was seriously hurt in the crash, which happened in the early morning hours of Nov. 16.

The train engine derailed about 15 feet away on the west side of the tracks, and more than a dozen train cars derailed, the reporting deputy said.

Aerial images of the crash showed two trains crumpled at the site of the crash, with cars turned perpendicular to the tracks or overturned.