A car upside down on CP tracks near Petro-Canada in Dallas - Date unknown Michael Potestio.

16 August 2012

Crash Sends Car Onto Railway Tracks

Kamloops British Columbia - A two-vehicle collision saw one car land on its roof on CP Rail tracks near Petro-Canada in Dallas on the afternoon of Wednesday, 15 Aug 2012, and quick action by a train crew avoided a second collision on the tracks.
 
Jeffery Matheson, 18, was driving his mother's Chevrolet Trailblazer west along the Trans-Canada Highway, headed toward Kamloops, when he collided with another car travelling behind him at about 2:30 p.m.
 
According to Kamloops RCMP, Matheson's vehicle collided with a Nissan Maxima that was travelling at a high rate of speed.
 
Police say the female driver of the Maxima tried to avoid a collision and lost control, with her car leaving the highway and going into a ditch. From there, it hit a railway tie, causing it to catapult into the air, flip twice, and land on its roof on the railway tracks.
 
A CP Rail train was headed on a collision course with the flipped car, but the crew was notified and stopped about 500 feet away.
 
Lorraine Korobanik, who lives across the road from the accident site, said she was walking to a neighbour's house when she heard brakes squealing and saw the car leave the highway.
 
"My daughter was in our driveway washing her car and I was worried it would keep coming and kill her, so I ran down the street screaming, call 911! call 911!" she said.
 
Korobanik ran to the car and unsuccessfully tried to open the drivers' door. She then tried a rear passenger's door, but it would not open.
 
"She was in the car screaming and we could see the train coming down the track," Korobanik said. "Trains take a long time to stop."
 
A man came along and, with his help, he and Korobanik managed to get the driver's-side door open.
 
"And, I just put out my hand and she got out," Korobanik said.
 
Matheson said the female driver of the car pulled out to pass another vehicle at the same time that he did and was sitting in his blind spot when the collision occurred.
 
He said he slowed down to correct himself and began moving back into his lane.
 
Matheson said the driver of the other vehicle also braked, but slid out in front of him, causing the back end of her car to connect with the right side of his SUV.
 
This caused her to spin out and veer into a ditch and landed on the train tracks. He veered off into the ditch as well, but was able to recover and pulled back onto the road, where he pulled his vehicle over.
 
"I've never had something happen like that quick before," said Matheson, who was uninjured and able to drive away from the scene.
 
Police say the driver of the Maxima was taken to Royal Inland Hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries and released.
 
Both drivers are facing charges under the Motor Vehicle Act.
 
Dale Bass.