This train kept a-rollin’.
A freight train barreled straight through a semi-trailer at a Rockland County grade crossing Thursday morning, wild footage shows.
The truck driver was able to narrowly escape before the train, with its whistle blowing, obliterated the storage he was hauling after he got stuck in the middle of the tracks, Rockland County Executive Ed Day said in a statement.
There were no injuries at the scene in the village of Haverstraw, Day said.
A village police officer shouted at the driver to leave the truck as the train quickly approached after the crossing gates came down, Haverstraw Mayor Mike Kohut told The Journal News.
“I told the driver that he should go to the nearest convenience store and buy a lottery ticket,” quipped Kohut, who is also a volunteer firefighter.
Haverstraw Police Capt. John Gould told CBS 2 the driver didn’t know the train was coming before he was alerted to flee.
“Driver was shaken up, but physically appeared OK. He was evaluated by the paramedics, as well as the train conductor,” Gould told the news station. “Thank God the only thing that was damaged was some property which can be replaced.”
The truck driver made a wrong turn, which led him to the grade crossing, Kohut explained, and when he tried to back up, the truck got stuck.
Kohut made clear to The Journal News no hazardous chemicals were on the train after checking the manifesto.
“Drivers need to heed extra caution when traveling over train tracks and should never, ever, proceed to wait for a traffic light on train tracks. Always maintain a safe distance from the crossing gates and only cross train tracks if you’re able to safely get to the other side,” Day said in a statement.
“As a former police commander, I understand and appreciate exactly how much hard work is going into securing a scene of this magnitude and thank our emergency responders for their quick response and assistance to this accident.”