ROY — A woman and her 6-month-old grandchild were not injured Wednesday when a FrontRunner train crashed into the front end of the woman's car.
Police said the vehicle was caught on the tracks between the crossing arms at 4800 South and 2700 West about 11:45 a.m. Witnesses told police the woman entered the crossing while the lights were flashing, and the arms lowered, said Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham.
The woman then exited the vehicle and tried to get help raising the crossing arms, but was unsuccessful, Whinham said. She was still outside the car when the train hit, ripping off the front of the vehicle, while the child remained in a car seat in the back seat.
Whinham said he hopes the incident will teach people in similar situations to drive through the crossing arms and off the tracks if their car is still operable.
"The design of those crossing arms is that you drive through them," Whinham said. "You get yourself off the tracks, whether you go backward or forward, it doesn't matter. And we don't care if you bust the arms off. They're actually designed to break away with very little pressure."
Whinham said this isn't the first time he's seen someone get caught in between the crossing arms, become afraid and believe they are "trapped."
The woman was cited in the incident, he said.