Railroad crossings and train tracks aren’t a good place to park your car. It’s a lesson an elderly Floridian learned all too well recently. Fortunately for the stranded motorist, this scenario may have ended in the best way possible when police and train personnel stepped into action.
Florida police officers wrote an old man a ticket on a set of train tracks with two trains approaching
Officers with the Cocoa Police Department arrived at a railroad crossing to find a Nissan sedan stuck on the tracks. But the vehicle wasn’t abandoned; an old man was actively trying to free the vehicle.
Unfortunately for the elderly motorist, two trains were approaching the gray sedan from opposing tracks. It sounds like something from a one-hour crime drama. But this was very real for the driver and the police on the scene.
Mercifully, there was enough time for the officers to contact the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) about the approaching trains. While the cops kept the man away from his car, the two approaching trains stopped “moments” before reaching the stranded Nissan, per the National Enquirer.
This was a best-case scenario. No injuries, no damage, and within an hour, a towing rig had pulled the sedan off the train tracks. However, the police officers felt the disruptive and potentially dangerous situation warranted a citation.
“Because of the seriousness of the situation, officers felt it necessary to issue citations for an improper turn resulting in the vehicle getting stuck on the tracks,” an officer said after resolving the issue.
A reminder to respect railroad crossings
A citation may very well be the least destructive outcome of a situation like this. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, a part of the US Department of Transportation (DOT), there are more than 2,000 incidents at grade railroad crossings every year.
Worse yet, those train track crossings are the scene of around 200 deaths per year. It’s a serious matter. And it’s a reminder that you should always pay attention at crossings, and never stop on the tracks.
