The driver of a semi-trailer escaped with minor injuries Monday evening when his truck was T-boned by a train in North Vancouver.
The man was turning left off Low Level Road across the tracks near Neptune Bulk Terminals at about 6 p.m. when he apparently failed to notice the locomotive approaching the crossing, according to police. Unable to stop, the slow-moving train ploughed into the front end of the empty trailer, knocking it on its side and pushing it some distance along the track. The collision ruptured the trucks fuel tank, spilling diesel over a wide area near the accident site.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene, shutting down Low Level Road and several rail lines and treating the driver for minor injuries. Crews contained the spreading fuel and later righted the damaged vehicle with a crane before towing it away.
The intersection was open again by about 9 p.m.
The driver had apparently missed the approaching locomotive because a second, parked train had been blocking it from view, said Cpl. Richard De Jong, a spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP.
It basically came down to human error, said De Jong.
The outcome could have been much worse, he added.
(The drivers) evasive action and his seatbelt pretty much saved his life, said De Jong. Had he been seconds earlier, it might have hit right where he was sitting.
The accident appears to have taken place at the same moment City of North Vancouver council was hearing a presentation about the safety of the rail crossings along that stretch of Low Level Road Monday evening. It was part of a larger debate about proposed upgrades to the thoroughfare.
