My Commuter Train Hit a Car

[spicedogs]

I knew that it was bound to happen. I ride a commuter train, and we go over too many street crossings. Hence, the commuter train has accidents. Many times it is a suicide and, because of it, the train is delayed or canceled. The poor passengers are not allowed to depart till the investigation is over. Sometimes, because of the type of carnage, it takes several hours. DNA sampling must be taken, etc. If the DNA is splattered all over the area, then it may take hours for the sampling and the investigation.

Anyway, I was wondering when I'd be on a train and be caught in an accident. Well, it happened tonight. Luckily, nobody got hurt, except the vehicle the person was driving.

We were two stations away from my stop. Because it just left the previous station, the train was going slowly (30-45 miles per hour). The gates at the crossing lowered, but the person was on the tracks. She was paying attention to the traffic light opposite the train tracks, not to the gate that was lowering and the blasting sound that the gates were giving off. When she heard the train's whistle, she started backing up. That was her lucky move. The train clipped the front of her car, mainly her bumper. She came out all shook up, but alive. We were not allowed to get off the train. All we could do was watch from the windows and take pictures. We had a reporter on board. He was allowed to descend the steps (not depart) and take pictures. He took my camera and took this shot:



The car was moved out of the accident area to make sure the driver was OK. You see the front of her car on the side of the lawn.




Same photo taken through the dirty window.





The woman is being tended to by the paramedics. This was taken with my iPhone througn a not-so-dirty window.

She was a lucky lady. From the looks of her, she must have been in her late 60s or early 70s. I saw her as she got out of the car. She was so shook up, poor soul. She will thank her lucky stars tonight. Who cares that her car is damaged? It's probably repairable. The main thing is that she is alive and well.



 

Comments

[divka.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear. It looks from the wreckage that the hit wasn't as bad as it could have been at all.

Funny--the Metro went by our apartment a few minutes ago and usually it is so quiet we don't notice it. But the driver was laying on the train's horn. Andy and I both looked at each other and said, "Oh...that can't be good." Thankfully it wasn't followed up by crashing noises or sirens...so perhaps it turned out okay, unlike your train.

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

Generally, the metro does not go through any crossings. Unless, some idiot dares to go by the electric track.

[divka.livejournal.com]

Yeah, usually laying on the horn means one of two things with the subway:

1) some person is (intentionally or not) way too close to the edge of the platform
2) another train is somewhere that it shouldn't be.

Both of those are bad news.

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

I had no idea about metro protocol. I hardly ride it.

[divka.livejournal.com]

Well, you'd think not much would go wrong. But there are a surprising number of people each year that end up going under a Metro train.

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

They are either stupid or want to do harm to themselves. I wonder whether metro has the same rules that MARC has: Mainly, no one is allowed to leave the train.

[katje0711.livejournal.com]

Read it after all. Wow. She is so lucky. Someone was looking out for her tonight.

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

Yes, she is a lucky person. It was not her time, yet.

[shalimar77777.livejournal.com]

Wow, what a day, huh?

That woman's lucky she backed up. Can you imagine the carnage if she didn't?

Bum deal, Spicy. Here's some good vibes for a safe train ride tomorrow.

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It was bound to happen. I am happy that it wasn't really bad. Who wants to witness that?

[galileah-galile.livejournal.com]

thank goodness she wasn't hurt

[spicedogs.livejournal.com]

Yes, the driver was lucky.

[mythicfeline.livejournal.com]

Each year about two or three people here bite it from the light rail. As many safety measures have been place as the transit folks can think of but still people try to override them, overconfident that they can beat it. I think suicide was the reason only once. The rest just stupidity.

I've only been in one crash (no rail tracks) in which ambulances took the drivers away from the scene. Oddly it was in the vehicles least likely to cause harm, an F-10 pickup and an Explorer, both of which had minimal damage. My vehicle, an Escort, got tossed up into the air, flung over a small flat-bed trailer and into the back of the rental truck it was attached to. I walked away with some strained muscles and a totaled car.

As you say, it wasn't my time apparently. Accidents are so crazy because sometimes the outcomes make no sense.

[ben-munchkin.livejournal.com]

oh god how scary!

[polvodestrella.livejournal.com]

God, that woman was born again today!

[hauntingdream.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness, that frightning! Thank heavens she made it out alive.

[mine82.livejournal.com]

Oh no, edith!!that´s really a shock!!...but yes praise/thank god that you are ok!!

[greyrider.livejournal.com]

Suicide by train? I've seen it in movies, but I suppose I never really thought about it. I don't live in an area of the US where public transportation is very common. We have a bus system for the University, but I've never been on it. I know suicide is a selfish act, but stepping in front of a train and delaying all those people with your death is just rude. I can think of a dozen less rude ways to off myself if I felt like it... why can't they?

I'm glad no one was hurt, and this situation was an accident instead of someone intentionally trying to end their life. The woman is still an idiot for stopping on the tracks - has she never seen a movie? Or considered the total tonnage of a train versus her dinky little car?