Teenage driver and passenger OK after collision between crashed car and train in Deroche

DEROCHE – Police in Mission say the occupants of a vehicle are OK after their vehicle struck a train signal pole before a freight train later collided with their vehicle at a railway crossing in Deroche on Sunday afternoon.

Mission RCMP spokesperson Corporal Harrison Mohr says Lougheed Highway in Deroche was closed for an extended period on Sunday evening (July 12) after a train struck a car that had crashed on the tracks.

At approximately 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon, a witness phoned 911 to report that a car had crashed on the train tracks at the crossing at Lougheed Highway and North Deroche Road in Deroche, east of Mission.

A vehicle was struck by a train on Sunday afternoon in Deroche, east of Mission. (Image Credit: Alyshael Thompson.)

Corporal Mohr says the car reportedly took the corner too fast, and collided with a train signal pole. The 18-year-old female driver from Coquitlam, and her 18-year-old passenger, had no injuries and were able to get out of the vehicle.

Little more than a minute into the 911 call, a freight train proceeded through the crossing and struck the crashed car. Fortunately, no injuries resulted from that collision either, Corporal Mohr. The train stopped after the collision, fully blocking the crossing, and remained there until the wreckage of the car was removed, and it was confirmed that the train was safe to continue operating.

Train signal pole struck. (Image Credit: Alyshael Thompson.)

“Mission RCMP highlight this as a reminder of the risks around train tracks, and to remind the public to immediately exit and move away from any vehicle that becomes stuck at a rail crossing,” Corporal Mohr said.