Two Cars Get Hit By Train On Two Separate Occasions, No Fatalities

Two Cars Get Hit By Train On Two Separate Occasions, 
No Fatalities

MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Two cars were hit by trains last night during two separate occasions at the train tracks located on Okemos Road, North of Grand River Avenue. Both of the accidents were unrelated, and happened about five hours apart from each other.

Luckily there were not fatalities, in both incidents the drivers were able to get out of the car before the train hit.

The train was filled with about 135,200 pounds of crude oil, which is raw oil from oil fields being transported for processing.

All together the train was carrying 1.5 million gallons of crude oil, enough to wipe out a whole subdivision, according to Fire Chief, Fred Cowper.

"It takes a mile for a train to stop. The train hit the car and the drivers door and pushed that door into the passenger door so if anyone would have been in the car they would have been killed," Chief Cowper said.

The train then pushed the car 75 feet down the track and spit it over to the side right into a one-thousand gallon propane tank. Luckily, the Fire Department was able to stop the leak, by turning off the propane.

In both incidents, the drivers went around barricades, ignoring road closed signs. The driver of the second vehicle was arrested for drunk driving.

There will be further information to come with whether or not the drivers in both situations will face more charges.

Additional Resources

Meridian Weather