At approximately 11:30am on Thursday, 11th August, a commuter train collided with a pickup truck in Wakefield, Massachusetts, after the truck drove on to the tracks whilst the approaching train signals were blaring.
The driver of the truck was a 76-year-old man, who approached the train crossing and in his impatience decided not to wait for the train to pass. He drove around the lowered barrier in an attempt to shave a few minutes off his journey.
And BOOM!
The approaching train traveling at 29mph struck the side of his pickup truck, pushing the vehicle several hundred feet back, all while the train driver applied the emergency brakes.
.@MBTATransitPD say train's driver began emergency stop procedure when truck came across track. Gates were working. pic.twitter.com/bQpxpWGJvr
— Robert Goulston (@rgoulston) August 11, 2016
Truck removed and the @MBTA_CR tracks are now clear. Regularly scheduled service resuming on #MBTA Haverhill Line pic.twitter.com/3gikkcdRsD
— Joe Pesaturo (@JoePesaturo) August 11, 2016
The train eventually stopped, the driver was found by the police conscious and alert but in need of serious medical attention. The driver was air lifted to the nearest hospital. No one on the train was injured.