Woman escapes van-train crash in nick of time
Reader Jamie Terrell was aboard the Trinity Railway Express Friday night when the Fort Worth-bound train crashed into a van. Here's Jamie's e-mail recount, and a cellphone photo of the van. The T today verified the accident, which occurred about 6:25 p.m.
"This happened ... on westbound train No. 2935. We were approaching the Calloway Cemetery grade crossing when the train went into emergency. After it stopped one of the passengers noticed the mangled van on the right side of the last car. For those not familiar with the location, Calloway Cemetery Road intersects with a short street and a driveway where at the same point it bisects a double-tracked portion of the TRE south of Euless. One of the witnesses said that a lady had driven the van into the intersection (it was dark by then), got confused, and made a right turn onto the tracks thinking it was a street and ended up wedged in high-centered. As our train approached she was still trying frantically to move the van when another motorist forced her to get out of the van - and probably saved her life. No one was injured, and after an inspection the train proceeded with a 45 minute delay."
Operation Lifesaver: www.oli.org
If you see something noteworthy on the roads, rails or sidewalks of North Texas, send a quick note to Honkin' Mad at gdickson@star-telegram.com ... Cellphone photos are very welcome, as long as they can be taken safely.
Gordon,
Just one comment: The title seems to imply fault on the part of the TRE train. In my opinion the fault lies directly with the motorist.
The train crew handled the situation very professionally I might add.
Jamie
Posted by: Jamie | January 07, 2008 at 02:55 PM
You're correct. I'll change the headline asap. I didn't intend that meaning.
Posted by: Gordon Dickson | January 07, 2008 at 03:02 PM
Note to readers: The original headline, "TRE crashes into van," was changed.
Posted by: Gordon Dickson | January 07, 2008 at 03:05 PM