Cambridge Commuter Train Collision Highlights Repeat Problem
CAMBRIDGE (CBS) -- Trains move at a pretty good clip through the Sherman Street Crossing in Cambridge, highlighting just how fierce the impact was on Saturday when a commuter train slammed into a car that had accidentally strayed onto the tracks.
The car was pulverized but the driver, a 28-year-old woman from Belmont, managed to get out of the car before the train hit it.
Gail Farino of Cambridge heard the loud boom Saturday night and saw the driver.
"I think she was stunned, I think she was just, didn't know what to do, she was standing over there with an umbrella waiting for the cops to come," said Farino.
This isn't the first time a car has mistakenly traveled down the tracks. In January 2013, another car was hit by a train at the same crossing. Neighbors told WBZ-TV's Jim Smith it's been a problem for years.
"People coming and turning down the tracks usually when it's bad weather, the light's bad, but it seems to be more of an issue of ignorance or being confused," a neighbor said.
The car parts are not the only evidence of damage. Saturday's impact also badly damaged a fence. The crossing gates were not down when she drove onto the tracks.
The driver of the car is not being charged.
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