(The following Associated Press story was published in the January 24 online issue of the San Jose Mercury News.)
GLENDALE, Calif. — An Amtrak train carrying 300 passengers struck a Jeep Cherokee Thursday afternoon, moments after the Jeep’s owner abandoned the vehicle on the railroad tracks. No injuries were reported.
Police said the crash occurred around 3 p.m. in Glendale, about 10 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.
Authorities said a 50-year-old Sunland woman told police she was driving across the tracks when one of the train-crossing arms hit the roof of her car.
The woman tried to reverse the vehicle but couldn’t so she abandoned the car, police spokesman Kirk Talmer said.
“I think she saw the train and decided, ‘I’m not going to play with this anymore,'” Talmer said.
Police said the train was moving at about 50 miles an hour when it hit the Jeep.
Talmer said it’s important for people to stop as soon as they see railroad flashing lights.
“Even if you think you can make it, trying to beat the crossing grade generally causes more accidents than not,” he said.
The crash occurred three days after a 76-year-old woman injured in a Metrolink train crash in nearby Burbank died.
Grace Midgley Kirkness was riding on the commuter train with a granddaughter Jan. 6 when a stake-bed truck turned into the train’s path. The truck driver was killed instantly.