French train driver killed after crashing into truck at railway crossing

BULLY-LES-MINES, France (AP) — A French high-speed train driver was killed on Tuesday and 16 people were injured when his locomotive slammed into a truck carrying military equipment at a railway crossing in northern France, local authorities said.

The driver of the truck was detained, and an aggravated manslaughter investigation was opened, but it is too early to determine the exact cause of the crash, Prosecutor Etienne Thieffry told reporters.

Jean Castex, the head of the national railway authority SNCF, said the railroad crossing gates were functioning correctly. The train was traveling at 160 kilometers per hour (100 mph) when it hit the truck, the local prefect said.

Rescue crews rushed to the scene after the crash in the town of Bully-les-Mines on a train route leading from Dunkirk to Paris, the regional administration said in a statement, adding that two of those wounded were seriously injured and that more than 200 train passengers were evacuated.

The nose of the locomotive was badly mangled and the truck also severely damaged, according to an Associated Press journalist at the scene. The train remained on the tracks, and the railway and some nearby roads were closed while emergency teams and investigators worked in the area.

The truck was tossed toward a nearby garden by the impact. The worst damage to the truck was in the rear of the vehicle, not the cab.

The crunch of the collision soon after dawn awakened some residents. Others told the AP that they were alerted by the smell of gasoline, or the sight of flames above the crash site.

Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.

Rail workers and policemen stand near the truck carrying military equipment after the crash against a high-speed train (TGV) in Bully-les-Mines, northern France, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Railway workers stand near a high-speed train(TGV) after he crashed into a truck carrying military equipment in Bully-les-Mines, northern France, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Railway workers stand near a high-speed train (TGV) after it crashed into a truck carrying military equipment in Bully-les-Mines, northern France, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

A truck carrying military equipment is pictured after crashing against a high-speed train (TGV) in Bully-les-Mines, northern France, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

A railway worker stands near a high-speed train (TGV) after he crashed into a truck carrying military equipment in Bully-les-Mines, northern France, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

NEW YORK (AP) — Samsung is saying goodbye its namesake texting app, at least for United States customers.

According to an end of service announcement published on the tech giant's U.S. support website, Samsung Messages will be discontinued in July. Impacted owners of Samsung smartphones and other gadgets are being asked to switch to Google Messages in the meantime, “to maintain a consistent messaging experience on Android.”

All Samsung Galaxy phones run on Google's Android operating system. To switch to Google Messages, Samsung's website gives users instructions to download the app from the Play Store, if not already on their phone, and set it as the default. Some people may also receive an in-app notification to guide them through the process.

Samsung says switching to Google Messages will give users access to updates like the latest artificial intelligence features from Google's Gemini — which includes an experimental feature called “Remix” to generate images during conversations and AI-powered reply suggestions — and the ability to share higher quality photos between Android and Apple iOS devices through RCS-enabled messages.

Users of older Android operating systems (dating back to Android 11 or older) will not be impacted by the end of Samsung Messages, the company noted. To check what Android OS you have on a Samsung device, open the settings app, click on “software information” and scroll to “Android version.”

Meanwhile, owners of Samsung's latest Galaxy 26 lineup and other newer phones cannot download the Samsung Messages app from the Galaxy Store today.

All devices will no longer be able to download Samsung Messages after it's officially discontinued in July, the company noted. Samsung said users can check their app for the exact date for when service will go offline.

Samsung confirmed in an update on its website Tuesday that this end of service guidance only applies to the U.S. market.

FILE - Samsung unveils its latest Galaxy smartphones during a showcase in San Francisco, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)