Updated at 11:45 a.m. Sunday with information from the Edmonds police.
The driver of a car that was hit by northbound BNSF train just before midnight Saturday had accidentally turned onto the railroad tracks because she was unfamiliar with the area, Edmonds police said.
According to Edmonds police spokesman Sgt. Mark Marsh, police responded at approximately 11:30 p.m. to a car-vs.-train collision in the area of Dayton Street to Main Street along Railroad Avenue. The car, driven by a 24-year-old Seattle woman, had just left a wedding reception in the area, Marsh said.
“The driver, being unfamiliar with the location, inadvertently turned onto the railroad tracks,” he added. “The car became stuck on the tracks and was unable to move.” The driver and her three passengers then noticed a northbound train coming, and were able to get out before the train struck it.
While there were no injuries, the train pushed the car north along the tracks, and it ended up at the Main Street crossing location, Marsh said. A BNSF investigator also arrived on scene to conduct an investigation.
The driver was released at the scene with charges pending.
early Sunday morning at Dayton Street along the Edmonds waterfront. Cueter says a group of young adults who were in the car got out safely before the train hit. The car’s occupants told her that the car got stuck on the tracks and they didn’t have time to drive it off before the train struck it. The impact carried the vehicle from Dayton to almost Main street in front of the Ferry Terminal.
I am glad to hear there are no injuries. I would like to hedge a bet that this Picture was taken south of the Edmonds Station not as close as the report above suggests to the ferry dock(Main Street). This would be a northbound train. photo taken approximately in front of underwater sports. At most 450 feet beyond the Dayton Crossing. It is approximately 1325 feet from Dayton to Main Street.
Fortunately it was south of the Amtrak building and only disrupted the Dayton Street crossing for the couple of hours it took to get it cleared off the tracks. After seeing the cleanup I’m glad to get more info. We were wondering how it could possibly have only damaged the end of the car unless the car was pointing down the tracks.
Was alcohol involved?
I did ask the police that question and the response was: “Alcohol was a minor factor,” but the main issue was not paying attention.