Motorists on Freeborn County 46 on Wednesday afternoon two miles east of Hayward witnessed a crew from Allen’s Tow ’N Travel working on uprighting a trailer and the yellow John Deere backhoe it was carrying.

Nearby, they also noticed a busted stop arm on the west side of the Iowa, Central & Eastern Railroad tracks and skid marks on the pavement. A white flatbed Ford truck owned by Freeborn-Mower Cooper Services was connected to the trailer.

Anyone passing the scene would conclude an Iowa, Central & Eastern train clipped the trailer of the westbound Ford truck. However, the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.

The tow crew uprighted the trailer, then lifted the backhoe. The incident happened close to 1 p.m. and the scene was cleared by 3 p.m. The west-side stop arm remained dysfunctional.