SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — A township man faces a hearing this week on charges he nearly caused a train crash after the pickup he was driving got stuck on railroad tracks near his home on Kiester Road, authorities said.

A Canadian National Railway train Thursday struck and dragged the truck. No one was injured, but the accident delayed the train.

The defendant, 31-year-old Corey M. Simon, was arraigned Friday on a felony charge of risking a catastrophe, and misdemeanor charges of causing damage to railroad or delay of railroad operations, criminal mischief, trespass and disorderly conduct.

He was placed in the Butler County Prison following arraignment, and released Monday after posting $5,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for 2 p.m. Wednesday at the office of District Judge Bill O'Donnell in Slippery Rock.

State police said Simon was driving a 2003 Dodge Dakota on the tracks on the 600 block of Kiester Road shortly before 9 p.m. when the vehicle became stuck horizontally across the tracks.

He was unable to remove the truck. A passer-by saw the predicament and called 911.

But before help could arrive, authorities said, the train hit the pickup and dragged it along the tracks for about one-tenth of a mile, police said.

Trooper Michael Torres said there were about 30 empty cars on the train. There was no derailment, authorities said, but the train was delayed while the truck was removed from it and towed. The pickup was totaled.

An email to Canadian National media officials in Montreal was not returned Monday.

Online court records did not indicate if Simon has an attorney. He could not be reached for comment.

Corey Simon