On August 12, 2019, about 5:09 a.m., local time, westbound CSX Transportation freight train H70211 collided with the side of eastbound CSX Transportation freight train W31411 at a switch near Carey, Ohio. The trains were operating on the CSX Transportation Columbus Subdivision which extends 90.6 miles from Columbus, ​Ohio, to Fostoria, Ohio. Each train's crew consisted of a conductor and a train engineer. The lead locomotive of the westbound train and railcars loaded with refuse in positions 1 through 4 were derailed onto their sides from the collision. The eastbound train derailed 21 railcars, loaded with frac sand, in positions 6 through 26. As a result of the collision, the eastbound and westbound train engineers suffered minor injuries. Collision damage was estimated at $4.9 million. No placarded hazardous material railcars derailed.

We determined that the​ probable cause of the train collision was the failure of the westbound train engineer to respond to the signal indications requiring him to slow and stop the train prior to Control Point Springs because of his impairment due to the effects of alcohol. Contributing to the collision was the design of the positive train control system which allowed continued operation in restricted mode on the main track.

​​We made recommendations to the US Department of Transportation; the Federal Railroad Administration; the Association of American Railroads, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Alaska Railroad, and the American Public Transportation Association; and CSX. We also classified two recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration.