The sheriffs were pressing to respond to a desperation call from a mom with a baby who was having trouble breathing. Fortunately the deputy sheriff was okay with minor injuries (not so much the cruiser). Also very fortunately, the infant baby was rescued and taken to the same hospital as the sheriff.
John Passaro said:
The sheriffs were pressing to respond to a desperation call from a mom with a baby who was having trouble breathing.
Yes ,
Doing their job and probably thought the train had passed not figuring on the other track. Kudos to the sheriff doing his job and yes he made a mistake ( if that is what you want to call it ) but glad all ok except the vehicle!
There is another , better video from the right side of the accident, and after watching several time I have come to the conclusion that the cops being in a hurry probably saved his life.
By crossing at an angle he was just bunted off to the side, if he had gone straight across, at a 90* to the tracks the coupler would have
”caught” the car and possibly drug it way way down the track before it stopped . Glad everyone is going home after that day!
If you listen, you can hear the “second” train sounding its horn for the grade crossing, and the sound of the horn gets louder. He should have heard that, and realized a second train was coming. Glad everyone is ok.
Hard one to call… yes they were trying to help someone, but also drove through the crossing while red lights blinking, i.e. broke the law.
The thing is the caption on the video: “car hit by passing train” as opposed to “car ignores blinking red lights and pulls right in path of train”… it’s not the train’s fault!
Greg
I’ve been in Law Enforcement for 18+ years now. I can tell you the two biggest calls that will get you going 1) Partner yelling “shots fired” /“Officer down” and 2) Baby not breathing calls. I’ve experienced both scenarios. Even with years of service and experience I have experienced tunnel vision/auditory loss when those calls come out and fortunately missed people/cars I didn’t see on the way to those calls. I’m willing to bet the Deputies adrenaline was kicked in and probably didn’t even hear the second train. Obviously I’m a train nerd, but it’s sooooo frustrating when you get stopped by a train running lights and sirens to a call. While I’m waiting I tell myself “deep breath wait for the train to clear.” This helps to bring back your sense of awareness and surroundings. I’ve jumped across the tracks before the gates are up, but only when making sure the rails are clear for me. Glad the Deputy is fine in this scenario.