(The following story by Patrick Maloney appeared on the London Free Press website on December 28.)
LONDON, Ontario — A driver walked away from his mangled pickup truck but his passenger suffered life-threatening injuries after witnesses said they tried to beat a train across the tracks yesterday.
Witnesses told London police the flashing lights were working and gates lowered when the pickup truck — carrying two men — drove across the level crossing on Gore Road shortly after 4 p.m. It was struck and dragged by a six-car Via train carrying 293 passengers.
Investigators surveying the wreckage could only shake their heads.
“The signals were working. They’re there for safety,” Staff Sgt. Paul Kerkhof said. “Unfortunately, people choose to ignore the rules . . . It’s just a terrible gamble.”
Paramedics at the scene said both men in the truck appeared to be in their 30s. The driver was in better shape than the passenger when both were taken to Victoria Hospital, said Chris Darby of Middlesex London EMS.
“(The) driver was conscious and alert and walking about after the accident,” Darby said. “The passenger has life-threatening injuries.”
Though the Via train, which was headed from Windsor to Toronto, received little damage, its engineers were badly shaken by the collision, spokesperson Catherine Kaloutsky said.
Once travel resumed 90 minutes later, they were relieved by other engineers in Brantford.
“It’s something that the engineers will never forget,” Kaloutsky said of level-crossing collisions.
Passengers continuing on to Kingston and Montreal made their connections in Toronto, she added. The last eastbound train was held until they arrived.
It appeared the train struck the bed of the truck, which was destroyed in the collision. Piles of debris — including extension cords, a hard hat and a shredded beer case — were strewn across the tracks.
The collision, which happened on a stretch of Gore Road filled with scrapyards and other businesses, nearly caused even more damage. The truck landed just a few metres from a giant power transmission tower.
It was expected the stretch of Gore Road between Clarke and Airport roads would remain closed until about 9 p.m. last night, Kerkhof said.
Though the track is used by Via trains, it is owned by CN Rail. CN workers were at the scene yesterday to survey the damage along with police investigators and London firefighters.