‘And then we saw the car pieces flying’: train-truck collision at Reed Point Marina
The driver of the truck has been taken to hospital for treatment, police say
A West Coast Express train collided with a pickup truck at a crossing in Port Moody Tuesday morning, ejecting the driver out of the vehicle.
The driver was transported to hospital with “serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” according to Port Moody Police Department (PMDP).
Police say first responders were called to the train crossing at Reed Point Marina off the Barnett Highway just prior to 7:30 a.m., Aug. 12, after receiving reports of the incident.
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Const. Sam Zacharias, PMPD’s media relations officer, said police believe the railway arms and lights were illuminated as the train approached the crossing.
“And the vehicle failed to yield to that train crossing signal,” he told the Dispatch.
The driver drove around the railway arm and across the track, where it was struck by the westbound train, which quickly stopped, he added.
By the time Port Moody police arrived on the scene, the sole occupant of the vehicle was being treated on-site by the fire crews, Zacharias said. He was subsequently taken to the hospital.
‘Everyone was surprised’
Ilya, a passenger on the West Coast Express train who didn’t want his last name published, said he boarded Train 3 at 7:04 a.m. at the Port Coquitlam Station on his daily commute to Vancouver, where he works as a software engineer.
He was sitting in the first car of the train when an impact caused him to lurch forward in his seat. He said at first people didn’t know that the train had hit a car.
“Everyone was surprised. It felt like an impact — [but] not something that caused people to fall out of their chairs,” he said. “And then we saw car pieces flying. We didn’t even know it was a car — just plastic pieces flying, on the left side of the train.”
While he said some people aboard seemed stressed, they otherwise looked okay. He was relieved to later learn that the truck driver had survived the crash.
TransLink told the Dispatch that no train passengers reported injuries on board, and Train 3 faced just under a one-hour delay. The two subsequent trains faced 10 to 15 minute delays.
While the train obtained minor damage, it was still operable. The truck, however, was significantly damaged from the crash, turning 180 degrees upon impact with the train, according to police.
The Port Moody Police passed the investigation onto the CPKC Police. The Dispatch contacted the CPKC Police, who did not have additional information to share.
