A motorist captured dramatic video early Tuesday morning of a passenger train slamming into a tractor-trailer just north of San Antonio.
[vimeo-autoplay video-id=”393936939″]
Officials with the Cibolo Police Department said the truck had become stuck at a railroad crossing and couldn’t get out of the way of the fast-moving train. Neither the truck driver nor the 123 passengers and crew on the Amtrak train from New Orleans to Los Angeles were injured.
Chris Schlein, the motorist who filmed the accident, posted the video on YouTube. (Editor’s note: Video contains explicit language.) He said he was on his way to work when he noticed the tractor-trailer stuck at the railroad crossing.
“I was already late for work, so I was going to turn around and go another way,” Schlein told FreightWaves. “Then I noticed the crossing lights started flashing, and the arms came down.”
Schlein said he saw the train speeding toward the truck and took his phone out.
“Here he comes,” Schlein said as the train bore down and severed the truck, whose driver had exited. “Holy [expletive]! … Damn! … That’s why you don’t [expletive] with them [expletive] railroad crossings.”
“[The driver] was already out — just barely. He was moments away from that train colliding,” Schlein said.
Cleanup crews spent several hours clearing debris after the accident. The train was able to resume its journey after a few hours.
News reports said the driver of the Centex truck received a citation. However, signage indicating trucks should not use the crossing was on only one side of the apparently steeply graded crossing — not on the side from which the truck driver was coming, according to NBC affiliate NEWS4SA. Police said a sign will now be posted on the other side as well.