07-25-2009, 08:51 AM
Yesterday morning at work, I heard a loud "thump". Being in the building, I didn't hear the whistle or the warning signal at the crossing near the building that I work at. Figuring it was just the sound of construction going on near us, (I got used to the sounds of thumps etc) I went on a patrol.
I started hearing sirens, then saw a whole slew of emergency vehicles come to the front of my building. At first I thought some idiot had called 911 as a joke and then when I saw the GO train stopped and cops walking along the track, my heart sank. I reached the area, saw a pickup truck at the crossing with its front end smacked in, (the signal arm was wedged behind the back of the cab) and asked the cop if anyone was hurt. He replied 'no' and kept searching. I found out later they were looking for the license plate of the truck which was sheared off (they found it).
What had happened was that the truck approached the crossing, stopped at the last second, had the arm hit it and tried to back up. The train came by and smacked the truck's nose. The leading edge of the hood and fenders were neatly crushed in, the bumper was crushed, and the plate, grille and headlights were very neatly sheared off the truck. It almost looked like the parts were taken off carefully as I couldn't see any bits hanging on to the truck. I overheard the guy saying that the arm came down abruptly before the signals and lights activated so this remains to be seen in court. The crews were at the scene for the rest of the day after the cleanup was done testing the signals and checking the tracks for damage.
Heard the news broadcaster giving his broadcast later and apparently the guy is facing over a thousand dollars worth of fines as he was charged with "Making an improper stop", "Ignoring warning signals", "Failure to have an insurance card" and "Operating an unsafe vehicle". That broadcast may have been seen on CTV.
I started hearing sirens, then saw a whole slew of emergency vehicles come to the front of my building. At first I thought some idiot had called 911 as a joke and then when I saw the GO train stopped and cops walking along the track, my heart sank. I reached the area, saw a pickup truck at the crossing with its front end smacked in, (the signal arm was wedged behind the back of the cab) and asked the cop if anyone was hurt. He replied 'no' and kept searching. I found out later they were looking for the license plate of the truck which was sheared off (they found it).
What had happened was that the truck approached the crossing, stopped at the last second, had the arm hit it and tried to back up. The train came by and smacked the truck's nose. The leading edge of the hood and fenders were neatly crushed in, the bumper was crushed, and the plate, grille and headlights were very neatly sheared off the truck. It almost looked like the parts were taken off carefully as I couldn't see any bits hanging on to the truck. I overheard the guy saying that the arm came down abruptly before the signals and lights activated so this remains to be seen in court. The crews were at the scene for the rest of the day after the cleanup was done testing the signals and checking the tracks for damage.
Heard the news broadcaster giving his broadcast later and apparently the guy is facing over a thousand dollars worth of fines as he was charged with "Making an improper stop", "Ignoring warning signals", "Failure to have an insurance card" and "Operating an unsafe vehicle". That broadcast may have been seen on CTV.