WEYAUWEGA, Wis. (WAOW) — 27 years ago, a train carrying explosive gas left Stevens Point on it’s way to Neenah, but it never made it to its destination, and the memory of the crash is alive to this day.
After the train slid off the rail, residents were warned to leave their homes out of fears that the cars might explode. Ryan Hutchinson was in eighth grade at the time, and details the moments after he and his family were told to evacuate.
Hutchinson said, “All of a sudden a police car pulled up, and they had a loud speaker, and they said everyone needs to go home and you know, get in the car and leave.”
But what he and other residents thought would just be a couple of hours, turned into weeks. Hutchinson’s family having to stay in a hotel where other residents were also staying.
Hutchinson adding, “About a week after the derailment, my dad and a couple of his cousins had snuck into town and they went into town to check on our house, they got our dog, and they had the city pretty well secured.”
And once the town was deemed safe, the residents were allowed to return. Ian Teal decided to make a documentary on what happened, and spoke about what it was like to recount the events.
“It was great to see how the whole community came together, as well as the surrounding communities. People opened up their homes, if people needed something, people would go out of their way to help their neighbor.”
Teal saying that despite significant losses to livestock and property, most of the people he spoke to had fond memories of the event, remembering the unity instead of the tragedy.
