A man killed when his truck collided with a freight train was painting road markings at the time.
Much of the wreckage had been removed from the level crossing on the outskirts of Marton by Friday morning as teams of investigators continued to probe the scene.
But a thick spray of white paint, coating rail tracks, a fence and a power pole, hint at the velocity and violence of the impact.
Stuff understands the man who died worked for Road Marking Services and was at the intersection painting stop markings when the collision occurred.
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A section of the track is coated in white paint from the truck, indicating where the collision occurred.
Emergency services were alerted to the crash at the Saunders Rd level crossing just after 3.30pm on Thursday.
Officials from police, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission, KiwiRail, Worksafe and Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency were still at the scene on Friday morning investigating the circumstances of crash.
Fire and emergency spokeswoman Belinda Beets said firefighters extinguished flames in the trucks engine following the collision, but were called back at 10pm after it again began to smoke.
The truck was removed from the scene at 10.30pm.
The train and truck crash near Marton drew a significant emergency response.
The commissions chief investigator Harald Hendel sent a team to the scene that night.
Their initial evidence-gathering work would include interviewing witnesses and inspecting and measuring the rail and rolling stock.
Hendel said an inquiry was launched when the commission believed the circumstances of a crash were likely to have significant implications for transport safety, or when the inquiry may allow the commission to make findings or recommendations to improve transport safety.
Investigators in discussion at the crash scene.
A Waka Kotahi spokesperson said it would help police and the commission with their investigations.
We will also be conducting our own enquiries to determine what action, if any, may be required from Waka Kotahi as the land transport regulator.
Road Marking Services was closed on Friday.
It is the second fatal crash between a commercial vehicle and a train in Manawat in the past year.
A bus hits a train near Palmerston North. The bus driver has died, while 40 passengers on board have escaped. (First published, September 16, 2020)
June Eynon, 63, was killed when the bus she was driving struck the rear of a moving train at a crossing near Bunnythorpe, 12 kilometres north of Palmerston North, on September 16.
Forty passengers were aboard, many of them Feilding High School students. All avoided serious injury.
Eynons death was referred to the coroner.