Lisa Roose-Church

Livingston Daily

A stretch of broken railroad in Livingston County caused nearly two dozen empty rail cars to jump the track in a thunderous crash Sunday morning.

No one was injured and no residences were evacuated, according to authorities.

Brent Earl, whose family farm is adjacent to the derailment area in Howell Township, said the impact "shook the ground so much" it was startling.

"The cars were falling off the track like a waterfall," said Earl, who was feeding his cows around 9:10 a.m. when the derailment occurred in a rural area between Oak Grove and Byron roads.

Chris Bagwell, general manager of Great Lakes Central Railroad, said one 3-foot piece of railroad track broke, causing the derailment.

The rail company, Bagwell said, has called in a crew with the Ohio-based R.J. Corman Railroad Group to upright the freight cars, which carry grain but were empty on Sunday. Bagwell said it will take at least three days to upright the overturned cars, rebuild the wheel system and place them back on the track.

Bagwell said the train was on its way to the rail yard in Owosso when the derailment occurred and once it is operational again, will continue to its destination.

Asst. Chief Brian Anderson of the Howell Area Fire Department said the derailment occurred in a rural area and it is not affecting residences or people.

Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte said no hazardous material was spilled in the derailment and he is asking the public to stay clear of the area while the rail company works to clear the area.

Livingston County Sheriff’s Deputy Ray Marino, who was stopped along Oak Grove about 2,000 feet away from the derailment site completing paperwork when the incident occurred, said it sounded like thunder and "you could feel the ground move a little bit."

Great Lakes Central Railroad is the largest regional railroad and has 400 miles of track stretching through Central and Northern Michigan, according to its Website.

Contact Livingston Daily justice reporter Lisa Roose-Church at 517-552-2846 or lrchurch@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @LisaRooseChurch.