Woman Saved From Oncoming Train, Car Dies

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

This is the stuff film noir, or nightmares are made of. Except that it happened yesterday, some 30 miles from where I had lived for many years. A woman made a wrong turn and was pulled out of her car moments before a train smashed it.

Yesterday afternoon, a woman from Islandia, Long Island, drove down Brentwood Road in Bayshore in her Volkswagen Jetta. After entering the railroad crossing of the Long Island Railroad, she turned left and ended up on the railroad tracks. She could not free her car. If you inspect the picture (brought to you by Google Streetview) you will see why.

Police arrived at the scene. The police contacted the Long Island Railroad to warn them of the car in the tracks. The railroad replied that a train was coming. The cops asked to stop the train. The railroad was unable to.

The cops pulled the driver from the car, and all three ran for their lives. Newsday picks up the story:

Moments later, as they ran to safety, the train smashed into the Jetta, sending it “flying across the tracks,” according to police. No one was injured on the train or in the immediate vicinity, police said.

Why did the lady make a sharp left turn on a railroad crossing? This might explain it:

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police later charged the driver of the car with driving while intoxicated.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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