• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Collision Lifts Train Cars Off Track

Posted on: Wednesday, 22 August 2007, 15:16 CDT

Australian rail passengers escaped serious injury Wednesday when two cars left the tracks after their commuter train hit a truck outside Melbourne.

The truck driver was killed, The Herald-Sun reported.

The crash occurred at a level crossing on the Mornington Peninsula. The engine and the two front cars became airborne but returned to the tracks and remained upright, the report said.

Some passengers fell down.

David Williams, a conductor on the train, said the crash showed that level crossings around Melbourne need to have gates installed. The truck driver, Geoff Young of Tyabb, apparently disregarded or did not see the warning lights.

A similar crash three months ago at Kerang, about three hours away from Melbourne, killed 11 people.

One passenger told The Age that the crossing where Wednesday's collision occurred is notorious because the sun shines into drivers' eyes, making the warning lights hard to see.

Source: United Press International

More News in this Category