A driver is lucky to be alive after being hit by a train in Alto. The crash happened Sunday night at the crossing on Apple Pie Ridge Road in Banks County.
Now Habersham was the first to report this story. Initial reports from the scene said the driver was stopped on the tracks.
According to new information released Monday morning by the Georgia State Patrol, 63-year-old Steve Andrews of Murrayville was driving a Ford Edge when he failed to stop at the railroad crossing at the Habersham County line. The SUV struck the railroad crossing gate and then the side of a Norfolk Southern train traveling north.
The train pushed the SUV approximately 50 feet off the roadway into the woods. Amazingly, Andrews was not seriously injured.
Emergency personnel from Habersham and Banks counties responded to the scene.
“Upon arrival, units found a vehicle struck by a train with a person with minor injuries. The patient was evaluated by EMS personnel and refused treatment and or transport,” says Banks County Fire Chief Steve Nichols.
No Norfolk Southern workers were injured in the crash, says the Georgia State Patrol which investigated the incident.
The collision caused moderate damage to Murray’s vehicle and minor damage to the train. In addition, the crash damaged the railroad crossing arm. Norfolk Southern crews were on the scene late Sunday working to repair it.
In addition to the Banks County Fire Department, personnel from the Baldwin Police Department, Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, and Habersham County Emergency Services responded to the crash. Banks County personnel cleared the scene just before 1 a.m. Monday, August 1.
The state patrol says charges are pending.
