Train crashes into car seconds after driver escaped to safety

WTVD

By DeJuan Hoggard

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    RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) — A train crashed into a car seconds after the driver escaped to safety on Wednesday afternoon.

It happened around 1 p.m. at the railroad crossing on Beryl Road near Interstate 440 and Hillsborough Street.

The man’s car was between the railroad arms when they came down to warn drivers of the incoming train.

Aziz Habtis was nearby and he rushed to the car to help the driver get out.

“I just ran to him and said, ‘Get out man. Get out. No time!’ He just immediately got out of the car.” Habtis said seconds later the train slammed into the car and sent it soaring past them.

Raleigh Police said nobody was injured in the crash. Amtrak said the train was headed from Raleigh to Charlotte. Ninety-two people were onboard the train when the crash happened.

“I saw the last moments kind of the last split second of it — of the red car just flipping over and over again,” one train passenger said. “I felt the train rock back and forth and for a minute I was concerned because I thought we were going to derail.”

Another passenger, who did not want to be identified recounted a similar story.

“It felt more like we had hit a speed bump, and then I looked out the window and saw a red car do a barrel roll missing its front end,” he said. “I was in the first train car so maybe it felt different to others in other cars.”

Witnesses near where the crash happened said it is common for cars to stop on the tracks. They said they believe this happens because of unclear signage warning about the tracks and worn out paint on the road to designate where drivers should safely stop.

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