A truck driver was listed in critical condition today after his cab was hit by a train near Dickinson Avenue shortly after 3:30 p.m.

The driver was undergoing surgery at Pitt County Memorial Hospital shortly before 5 p.m., said Cpl. Kip Gaskins with the Greenville Police Department. His name was not being released. No information was available about the condition of the train crew.

The accident occurred at the Skinner Street crossing between Dickinson Avenue and Norris Street, Gaskins said.

The impact ejected the driver from the cab; he was then pinned under the truck and had to be extracted by Greenville Fire-Rescue, Gaskins said. The incident is being investigated by the police traffic safety unit.

Emergency crews blocked off streets in a one-mile radius surrounding the accident scene because of a diesel fuel spill from the truck, Gaskins said. Traffic was still able to move along Dickinson Avenue.

The incident happened in an area bordered by a empty lot and cemetery and commercial property.

The truck was transporting a flat-bed trailer with several pieces of heavy construction equipment, according to an eyewitness. It appears the impact knocked one piece of equipment off the bed while another remained tied down.

The train hit the cab on the driver's side.

The Skinner Street railroad crossing is one of six the state Department of Transportation wants to close in Greenville. The Greenville City Council on June 12 held a public hearing on the proposed closings.

The closings are proposed to reduce collisions between trains and vehicles, Nancy Horne, project engineer with the state transportation department, said last month.