Mission (Mission RCMP) – Lougheed Highway in Deroche was closed for an extended period on Sunday evening, after a train struck a car that had crashed on the tracks.
Around 4pm on July 12, a witness called 911 to report that a car had crashed on the train tracks at the crossing at Lougheed Highway and North Deroche Road in Deroche, east of Mission. The car reportedly took the corner too fast, and collided with a train signal pole. The 18-year-old female driver from Coquitlam, and her 18-year-old passenger, had no injuries and were able to get out of the vehicle. Little more than a minute into the 911 call, a freight train then came through the crossing and struck the crashed car. Fortunately, no injuries resulted from that collision either. The train stopped after the collision, fully blocking the crossing, and remained there until the wreckage of the car was removed, and it was confirmed that the train was safe to continue operating.
Mission RCMP highlight this as a reminder of the risks around train tracks, and to remind the public to immediately exit and move away from any vehicle that becomes stuck at a rail crossing.
