TCHULA - A train derailed near the small town of Gwen near Tchula today, leaving a tangled web of cars just several feet away from residents' homes.
Shortly, before 8 a.m., residents were awakened by crashing train cars that apparently jumped the track.
Three train cars landed sideways only a few feet from homes and left a muddy mess in their wake but injured no one.
Other cars had lost wheels, damaging a huge section of the tracks.
Residents stood by amazed and shaken as Tchula authorities and city workers tried to assess the damage and ensure no one was injured.
"It sounded something like thunder," said Bishop Linda Thurmond, pastor of Star of Faith Deliverance Center Ministries. She was in a trailer that houses the ministry near the train tracks.
Fannie Mae Doty, whose house is just a few feet in front of the tracks, did not know what was going on until a neighbor came to check on her.
"My neighbor kept asking me if I was OK. I told her I was fine and that I was not hurt," said Doty.
Doty said there have always been problems with the tracks. "When a train comes by, it shakes my house all the time," she said.
"Yesterday, workers were out there doing work on the tracks, but I don't know who they were," said Doty.
There was a derailment near the homes last year, but it wasn't as bad as the one today, she said.
Sgt. Eric Redmond of the Tchula Police Department said they are still trying to determine the cause of the derailment. The city will use machines to help clear the wrecked cars, he said.
