Train hits car stuck on South Summit Avenue tracks in Gaithersburg
Crossings at Summit, Chestnut closed for two hours Friday night
Two railroad crossings in Gaithersburg were closed for two hours Friday night after a car stuck on the tracks at South Summit Avenue was struck by a southbound freight train.
The driver of the car, who police have not identified, left his compact Toyota on the tracks and got his two children out of the car before the train struck, Gaithersburg Police spokesman Officer Dan Lane said. The man also tried to get help to move his car off the tracks by calling a tow company before the collision, Lane said.
The incident happened just before 8 p.m., Lane said. The railroad crossings at Summit and Chestnut avenues reopened before 11 p.m.
The train hit the Toyota on the tracks and knocked the car into three other parked cars, Lane said.
No injuries were reported.
The same crossing was the site of a death Jan. 14, when James T. Clemons, 81, was struck by a commuter train as he crossed the tracks to board.
In 2010, there were 24 train accidents in Maryland, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. The federal agency does not have incidents from 2011 listed in its online databases.
dgaines@gazette.net
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