Train hits car on tracks in Depot Town in Ypsilanti
Ypsilanti police investigate after a train struck a car on the railroad tracks at East Cross and North River streets in Depot Town in Ypsilanti Friday night.
AnnArbor.com photo | Courtney Sacco
A freight train hit a car on the railroad tracks at the intersection of East Cross and North River streets in Depot Town in Ypsilanti Friday night.
No one was in the car when the train stuck it about 8:50 Friday night, said Capt. Dan Cain of the Ypsilanti Fire Department. No one was believed to have been injured he said.
Ypsilanti police were still at the crash scene just before 10 p.m. The front of the car, which Cain said was a Hyundai, had been crushed by the impact. The intersection was blocked by the accident.
No information about why the car was on the tracks or what happened to its driver was immediately available.
The train that struck a car in Ypsilanti's Depot Town Friday night sits on the tracks after the accident.
Courtney Sacco | AnnArbor.com
Comments
jns131
Sun, Mar 17, 2013 : 3:40 p.m.
Thank you for the picture of a car without the parties being inside it. This is what a car looks like after being hit by a train. I have seen pictures of buses being hit by trains with occupants inside. Not a pretty site. Glad all waked away and no parties injured. Please remember this the next time you park a car on the tracks or try to out run a train.
Joe
Sun, Mar 17, 2013 : 2:58 a.m.
I used to work nights at the Co-op, and ever since they repaved that intersection (two years ago?), drivers have been driving onto the tracks very regularly. I worked two nights a week, and in the few minutes every night when I was outside after work, I probably saw a driver at least begin to drive onto the tracks at least once every other week. Once I actually witnessed a driver get stuck on the tracks, as this driver did, and the police had to be called. After that, someone's brilliant solution was to spraypaint a white line on the pavement. I'm honestly surprised it took this long for a car to get hit. I'm so thankful no one was in it and no one nearby was injured. Hopefully this will inspire the city, whichever company owns the tracks, MDOT, whoever, to actually make this intersection obvious and understandable to every driver. More lighting, more signage, fencing, I don't know.
nse
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 5:40 p.m.
Billy & baffoon are right. Car got stuck on tracks (drivers side wheels in the tracks) 2 guys were pushing it & took off running when they heard the crossing gates start. car was about 120 feet from crossing when it was hit.train was going almost 50 mph (other end of the train was over 1/2 mile away). Police were there right away they just didn't have an answer at 10:00
Homeland Conspiracy
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 2:46 p.m.
Texting?..... just saying
justcurious
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 1:56 p.m.
"No information about why the car was on the tracks or what happened to its driver was immediately available." How about now?
Paula Gardner
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 9:18 p.m.
Nope. Not yet. A reporter tried earlier. We'll try again.
Jim Osborn
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 2:45 p.m.
I think that they mistook the track location for the entrance to a parking lot. It is a dark area and leads to an area that can be confused as a wide open parking lot. The actual lot entrance is nearby, and not well marked. It appears that the driver had enough sense to get out of the car, but not enough sense to call 911 or enough time to do so for the police to relay the message to the railroad than then stop the train.
Jim Osborn
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 1:53 p.m.
This freight train was slow moving, or very long since the last car is still at the scene. Amtrak trans are allowed to go much faster, up to 79 MPH as many crossings. We should be thankful that no one was in the car and injured, but there will be a next time. This crossing is especially dangerous fro a car that is southbound on west Cross. None of the warning signs are aimed in that driver's direction and it is too easy to drive under the gate as it is descending. This is the exact sort of situation that has killed drivers in repeated accidents in Burbank, California. What should be done to greatly reduce the chances of accidents is to improve the railroad crossing warning signs, especially for crossings that are in odd locations. The traditional cross buck is a light white or gray, which matches the sky, making them hard to see. There are alternatives that use a red warning, both in Europe and even the State of Ohio has proposed a Buckeye Cross-buck. Both are better. When a train does approach, the lights need to be bright flashing LEDs similar to those used on police cars, not the quaint 1940s era dim lights that are much harder to see, especially din bright daylight. Lastly, the time allowed for the gate to be down until the train to arrive is only 20 seconds, but often this is less as these gates can be in poor repair. Railroads are great and needed, but crossings need to be safer and it is not difficult to make them so, especially as more higher speed trains will be using this corridor.
Jim Osborn
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 2:05 p.m.
"This crossing is especially dangerous fro a car that is southbound on west Cross." This should have read This crossing is especially dangerous for a car that is southbound on North River Road and then turning onto west Cross.
Jim Osborn
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 1:52 p.m.
An accident at this crossing is predictable, but not in the way that this one occurred. This crossing, as many railroad crossings are, is poorly marked. I actually looked at this crossing a week ago after picking up some printing from Standard Printing. It is a very wide crossing, where the tracks almost, but not quite bisect an intersection. Due to this, the crossing arms are extremely far apart. The minimal warning signage is on these crossing arms. I'm speculating, but the car, if it was stuck on the tracks after mistaking it for the entrance to a lot, it is next to an often-filled parking lot alongside a road. Admittedly, the driver did park next to the crossing arm, but if the signage was better, even a tipsy driver would be aware of the crossing. What might be missing or not easy to see is the 1-800 number of the railroad to call immediately in such situations. It is required by federal law, the FRA, but the silly railroads and city usually only place one such sign, often in a hard to see location, since that is all that is required. At a crossing in Burbank, California, I saw a truck get stuck under a cross arm and then break it off. The phone number was hidden, so I called 911 and the police quickly contacted the railroad. Another train was coming in less than 10 minutes.
genetracy
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 1:17 p.m.
When we were kids, we used to put pennies on the railroad tracks to see what would happeen. It sounds like this time, a car was placed on the tracks to see what would happen.
JJ
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 12:04 p.m.
One less Korean import. Buy a car from an AMERICAN CAR COMPANY.
DJBudSonic
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 2:14 p.m.
Too bad those tracks were likely made from 100% Korean steel when that crossing was redone. Korea has some of the best steel processing facilities in the world. And this is coming from a GM family, so, I guess it is time to face up to the global economy. I support American business, too, but as you know, many "import" manufacturers are providing more U.S. jobs than the big three are.
dancinginmysoul
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 1:21 p.m.
What the...? Do you somehow think the car wouldn't have been damaged if it was American made? I fail to understand the relevance of your comment.
HB11
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 11:53 a.m.
I'll just run into the Co-Op and pick up a couple of singles......
grimmk
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 6:27 a.m.
Huh, I was wondering why the train was stopped at the intersection up from that one. Glad no one was hurt! But what a weird thing to do. Insurance scam? Stolen car?
MathGeek
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 11:03 a.m.
Yeah, stolen car. Because a train/car accident doesn't get any attention from the police. I'm going to drive my stolen car into a police station, just to make it easier.
buffoon33
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 7:50 a.m.
Likely just an accident. Certainly not the first time someone has accidentally turned onto the tracks.
buffoon33
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 6:13 a.m.
From talking to friends who were down there, the driver of the Hyundai accidentally turned onto the tracks and got stuck. I've seen this happen before during the Heritage Festival a few years ago on Forrest. Unfortunately this time the car wasn't removed in time.
seldon
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 1:54 p.m.
Glad they got out!
Olive
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 1:05 p.m.
I remember that! I was on Forrest and saw the SUV on the track.
Cash
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 10:52 a.m.
Thanks Buff. That actually makes sense. I could see it happening that way. And that's why the car was hit head-on. Cash
PineyWoodsGuy
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 4:23 a.m.
Hyundai's are like that. Glad that driver and passengers bailed-out before the Freight Train arrived at the crossing. Those be Real Smart Dudes! So all we got here is a demolished Hyundai. Big Deal!
mady
Mon, Mar 18, 2013 : 8:52 p.m.
Have fun explaining this to the insurance people....
PineyWoodsGuy
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 9:49 p.m.
Aye Jack. Ya think maybe some laid-off auto workers discovered the Korean-made car un-locked and pushed it onto the tracks?
Jack Gladney
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 3:52 p.m.
We used to smash up those import cars when we got drunk at bars in Hamtramck back in the 1980s. Never thought of using a train to do it.
An Arborigine
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 3:55 a.m.
Dude, I know a shortcut!
Billy
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 3:48 a.m.
Ok so from the pictures above it looks like the car was parked on the tracks facing the train because the hood crumple indicates the initial collision was head on, not from the side or clipped. The train was traveling northbound it looks like, and hit the car pushing it into and across the intersection. The place where the car would of been parked is all grass, dirt, and gravel by the tracks. No legitimate parking is around there.
Honest Abe
Sun, Mar 17, 2013 : 3:52 a.m.
There is PLENTY of parking. All you have to do, is open your eyes.
MathGeek
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 11:04 a.m.
Someone queue up The Who. CSI Ypsi has this covered.
Fat Bill
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 3:37 a.m.
They were playing chicken...he thought the train would swerve first...
jns131
Sun, Mar 17, 2013 : 3:37 p.m.
I have heard of swerving trains. It is called a train wreck.
chelsea
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 3:24 a.m.
It took the Ypsi cops AN HOUR to get to the crash site?
seldon
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 3:47 a.m.
Yeah, they were held up by a stopped train. What?
Cindy Heflin
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 3:30 a.m.
No, I did not mean to imply that's when they arrived. I've added the word still to the sentence to clarify.
Billy
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 3:22 a.m.
There's no "street parking" that the tracks cross. They would of had to park their car in the middle of the intersection or on the island.... There's more to come about this I'm sure.
MathGeek
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 11 a.m.
Billy, it's a joke.
Mick52
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 2:56 a.m.
Picking up his carry out at Sidetrack.
yohan
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 2:55 a.m.
Hey Ma! Look, I just found a really good parking spot!
Jim Osborn
Sat, Mar 16, 2013 : 2 p.m.
I'm speculating, but the car, if it were stuck on the tracks, could have happened after mistaking it for the entrance to a lot that is next to an often-filled parking lot alongside a road. If the signage was better, even a tipsy driver would be aware of the crossing. What might be missing or not easy to see is the 1-800 number of the railroad to call immediately in such situations. It is required by federal law, the FRA. Is this number prominently displayed, on both sides of the street? I doubt it. I wrote much more in later postings at 10 AM Sat, explaining why this crossing needs to be improved as the Ypsi Ann Arbor area gains higher speed trains. I was not home on Friday waiting to post.