COHASSET — A 33-year-old Mansfield man had seconds to spare early Monday morning when an MBTA Commuter Rail train struck his car after it became stuck on the tracks at the North Main Street crossing.
Cohasset Police received multiple 9-1-1 calls at about 12:23 a.m. reporting that a Greenbush Line train traveling toward Scituate had hit a vehicle at the crossing.
Police and Cohasset Firefighter/Paramedics arrived to find a badly damaged 2016 Toyota Camry on the tracks. The train stopped just short of the Cohasset MBTA station.
According to police, the driver was delivering packages for an online delivery service when he apparently made a wrong turn onto the railroad tracks and became stuck. As the train approached, the driver realized he was in danger, got out of the Camry and moved away from the tracks before the train struck the vehicle.
Thankfully he was not injured. About 15 passengers were aboard the train, along with the train crew. No injuries were reported on the train either.
The Camry was heavily damaged and declared a total loss.
North Main Street was closed for more than two hours as Cohasset Police and MBTA Transit Police investigated the crash and crews removed the vehicle and debris from the tracks.
“This could very easily have been a fatal incident,” Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley said. “The driver made the critically important decision to get out of the vehicle and move away from the tracks rather than remain inside or attempt to free the car as the train approached.” “A vehicle can be replaced. A life cannot. We are extremely fortunate that no one was injured.”
The crash remains under investigation by the Cohasset Police Department Criminal Investigations Division and MBTA Transit Police.
