A motorist has learned the hard way that trying to beat a train has serious consequences.
Windsor police were called around 11 p.m. Tuesday to the railway crossing at Jefferson Boulevard and South Service Road. Officers discovered a white BMW with severe damage to the front passenger side. The investigation determined that the BMW was travelling south on Jefferson and a freight train was on the tracks going east when it hit the car. The driver of the BMW was trying to cross the tracks despite the railway warning lights flashing and the gates were down, according to Constable Talya Natyshak.
There was no damage to the train and no injuries reported. The BMW driver, a 41-year-old Windsor man, was cited for disobeying a railway crossing signal.
Police are using this incident to remind drivers that in a race between a vehicle and a train, the train always wins, often with damaging or fatal results. It is illegal to drive around a railway gate when it is down. If there is a flashing signal but no gate, drivers are to wait until the lights have stopped flashing and the crossing is clear before proceeding, said Natyshak. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has complete information on railway safety.