See This School Van Narrowly Avoid Collision With Train

WHITMAN, MA — The driver of a school van that nearly ended up colliding with an MBTA Commuter Rail train will not face charges, police announced Tuesday. The driver of the van, whose name has not been released, did everything he could to avoid being hit by the train, according to the Whitman Police Department.

At 5:15 p.m. Monday, the school van became trapped between the railroad crossing gates and the railroad tracks. Video from the scene shows the van parallel to the tracks as a passing train sped by within feet of the white van. After the train goes by and the gates are raised, the video shows the van backing up into the proper lane of traffic and driving away.

Police said the initial investigation indicated that the van driver stopped just before the tracks and that one of the gates came down on top of the van. The driver maneuvered the van clear of the tracks but was unable to get around the gates before the train came, according to police.

“This is something that, while rare, does happen every once and a while,” Whitman Police Chief Scott Benton said in a release. “Most cars just drive right across the tracks, but the vehicles that are mandated by law to stop prior to the tracks can sometimes get caught in sort of a ‘no man’s land,’ where the lights start flashing and the gate comes down behind them before they can get across the tracks. Thankfully he was able to maneuver the van away from the tracks to avoid being struck.”

One of the gates came down on top of the van. The driver tried to back up, but the school bus sign on the van’s roof caught the gate, preventing it from reversing out of the way.

A student was in the van at the time of the incident. No injuries were reported.

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Image via Whitman Police Department