PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A man involved in a two vehicle crash that left his Jeep straddling railroad tracks in Portage Friday morning was rescued from his vehicle just before it was hit by a train.
Around 6:20 a.m., the Portage Department of Public Safety was dispatched to the intersection of Shaver Road and West Centre Avenue on a report of a two-vehicle crash with injuries. When police and fire units arrived at the scene they located a Chevrolet Cruz in the intersection with heavy front end damage, and a Jeep rolled onto its side straddling the railroad tracks with a subject still inside.
Firefighters began to assess the driver of the Jeep who was complaining of severe back pain to the point that he was unable to extricate himself. Within seconds into their assessment the train crossing signal lights began flashing and the sound of a whistle from an oncoming train could be heard.
The firefighters, realizing what was about to take place, quickly removed the driver of the Jeep by dragging him to a safe location just seconds before a southbound train entered the intersection and struck the vehicle.
Video of the scene can be viewed here.
The driver of the Jeep was later transported to a local hospital for treatment. The driver of the Chevrolet Cruz was uninjured.
The cause of the initial two vehicle crash remains under investigation.
