Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Witnesses rescue senior citizen before train crash

AUBURN, Wash. – A disoriented senior citizen who drove onto the BNSF railroad tracks in Auburn by mistake was rescued moments before a freight train slammed into his car.

Valley Regional Firefighters were called to the scene at 9 p.m. Friday and found a car that had been dragged about 150-feet down the northbound tracks.

The man who had been driving was standing on the porch of a nearby home.

Witnesses said they saw the car turn onto the tracks, possibly mistaking it for a road.

They ran to the vehicle and found an elderly man who appeared disoriented. They pulled him from the car about 45 seconds before a northbound train struck the vehicle.

No one was injured in the incident. The Auburn Police are investigating.