(The following article by Dan Palmer appeared on the Edmonton Sun website on August 25.)
EDMONTON, Alberta — A 72-year-old grandmother’s truck was destroyed recently after it got stuck at a railway crossing on the city’s south side and was pummelled by a freight train.
“It was scary,” Inger Johnsen said on Friday after the crash, adding she wants the railway company to cover the cost of the truck. “They’re required to have crossings that you can use.”
Johnsen and her twin six-year-old grandchildren – a boy and a girl – were coming back from a field near 29 Street and 68 Avenue around 6:45 p.m.
The trio had just finished bringing supper to Johnsen’s husband, who had been cutting a canola field in the area.
As Johnsen drove a red Dodge diesel three-quarter-ton truck over a railroad crossing, she somehow managed to get the truck stuck midway.
The children got out of the truck, while Johnsen tried getting the vehicle out of its predicament.
“I tried putting it into four-wheel drive and it didn’t work,” said Johnsen. “Then I saw the train coming.”
Johnsen got out of the truck and watched as the train ploughed into it.
City emergency medical services said the train hit the truck, spun it around four times and carried it a further 18 metres along.
No one was hurt in the incident, but the truck was destroyed.
Railway officials could not be reached for comment.