MICHIGAN — Two recent train crashes involving vehicles are raising new concerns about railroad crossing safety across southeast Michigan.
On Thursday morning, an Amtrak train headed to Chicago from Pontiac collided with a Priority Waste truck near the border of Wayne and Westland in the area of Merriman Road and Michigan Avenue. Wayne police say it appears the truck attempted to cross at the railroad crossing as the train came barreling down around 8:30 a.m.
Detroit resident Linda Lipscomb was a passenger on the train when the crash happened. She was headed to Kalamazoo.
"You could feel the breaking and it was obvious something was hit," Lipscomb said.
The driver of the truck was taken to a local hospital, where they are listed to be in stable condition. Priority Waste did not respond to a request for comment.
You can watch Ruta Ulcinaite's full report below:
Passengers were stuck on the train for hours before buses arrived to take them to their destinations.
"The bathrooms are filled up to the top. We have senior citizens that's in pain. We had a couple injuries on the train," passenger Gabrielle Stephens said.
The buses were of no help to Lipscomb, who was taking the train to a funeral — a funeral she missed because of the delay.
"It was very important for me to get there," Lipscomb said. "I missed the entire thing."
Residents say they've seen drivers go around the railroad crossings even when a train is approaching, and they are fed up.
"People need to stop trying to go around the railroad tracks and the arms of the train. It's just not worth your life. It's just not worth it," said Megan Zeplzauer, who lives near where the Thursday crash occurred.
On Wednesday, the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office says a 38-year-old male driving a car was also struck by an Amtrak train headed toward Chicago, this time in Dexter. There were no reported injuries, and the circumstances leading up to both crashes remains under investigation.
Curtis Stewart, state coordinator with MI Operation Life Saver — a nonprofit that focuses on preventing railroad-crossing collisions — says there were around 30 train collisions at crossings in Michigan last year.
"It takes about a mile for a train to stop going 55 miles an hour. So they can't stop quickly," Stewart said. "It affects everybody when these tragedies happen."
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