Train smashes car in Melbourne as tradies rush to rescue elderly driver
A violent train smash in Melbourne turned a quiet level crossing in Brunswick into pure chaos. An 89 year old bloke somehow survived after his car was hit by a train, and it was a group of tradies working nearby who sprinted in first after hearing the crash, helping pull the old fella out and likely saving his life.
A moment of full blown chaos unfolded in Melbourne when a car ended up stranded on the tracks just seconds before a train thundered through the crossing.
The driver, an 89 year old man, had driven past the boom gates at the Victoria Street level crossing in Brunswick when his silver Mercedes stopped dead on the tracks.
Seconds later the train smashed into the front of the vehicle. The impact dragged the car several metres and completely mangled the front end, leaving behind a scene that looked more like a wrecking yard than a suburban crossing.
Tradies were the first to run in
Tradies working on a nearby site heard the impact and bolted straight toward the wreck. As the video shows, several workers were among the first on scene, rushing in to help the driver while debris and twisted metal still littered the tracks.
The elderly man managed to get out of the vehicle and was later taken to hospital with injuries that were thankfully not life threatening.
Considering the violence of the crash, plenty of people are calling it nothing short of a miracle. Another few centimetres and the story could have ended very differently. The entire front of the car was completely destroyed.
“When a train hits a car it usually ends a lot worse. This time the driver got incredibly lucky.”
Rail chaos during peak traffic
The smash also triggered serious delays across Melbourne’s rail network.
The train involved was carrying around 150 passengers. None of them were injured, but services on the Upfield line had to be suspended while emergency crews dealt with the wreck and assisted the driver.
The impact smashed part of the crossing barriers, damaged signalling equipment and tore through sections of the rail system wiring, leaving the crossing completely shut for several hours.
While authorities are still investigating exactly how the incident unfolded, the footage shows just how close the driver came to becoming another tragedy at one of Melbourne’s busy rail crossings.
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A violent train smash in Melbourne turned a quiet level crossing in Brunswick into pure chaos. An 89 year old bloke somehow survived after his car was hit by a train, and it was a group of tradies working nearby who sprinted in first after hearing the crash, helping pull the old fella out and likely saving his life.