Ashland, Va. (WRIC) — Ashland police are continuing to investigate this weekend when a train struck a car and was left on the tracks.
Police are still searching for the driver of the crash, which happened around 3:30 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of England Street and Railroad Drive.
A video from Virtual Railfan shows a car passing under the arm as it descends and stops on the tracks. The driver got out and walked away – seconds later a train crashed into the car.
Russell Youens works at Tiny Tim’s Trains and Toys and lives nearby. He witnessed the accident firsthand.
“I happened to be up in the middle of the night and wandering around, looking at the cameras, the footage, and seeing the accident happen,” Eunes said. “I was kind of shocked because it was unusual for it to happen.”
Youens told 8News he regularly saw crashes in the area.
“We probably have an accident every month here involving a car and luckily no pedestrians, but I’ve seen close calls,” Ewens explained.
Crews were repairing the robotic arm on Monday to make sure it was fit for a train to pass through.