Credit: AP

Running a stop sign resulted in tragedy Friday morning after an oncoming train collided with a truck on the tracks, killing the driver.

Police say the railroad tracks on County Road 8 in Fort Lupton, Colo. do not have automatic gates preventing vehicles from getting on the tracks, and believe the truck's driver disregarded the stop sign at the tracks.

According to Fort Lupton Police Sergeant William VanArsdale, officers were called to the tracks at 4:55 a.m. after a witness saw a Union Pacific train crash into the driver's side of a Toyota Tundra, pushing it 200 yards. When officers arrived at the scene, they found portions of the truck embedded into the front of the train.

VanArsdale says that at some point in between impact and the vehicle coming to rest, the driver fell out. It's unknown at this time if he was wearing a seat belt.

The force of impact almost sliced the truck in half. It caught fire after stopping.

The train reportedly had two people on board, both uninjured. It was carrying 40 cars behind it, going 55 mph at the time of the accident. VanArsdale says despite the those on board using the emergency brake, the train still traveled 3/4 of a mile before coming to a complete stop.

The Weld County coroner identified the victim as 55-year-old Francisco Ardon of Aurora, who had just finished an overnight shift at work, according to his son.