TOKYO (TR) – A train crashed into a vehicle that tried to drive through a crossing in Itabashi Ward on Tuesday, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Oct. 25).
According to the Tokyo Fire Department, the car was completely destroyed by the train in the collision at around 5:20 p.m. near Narimasu Station on the Tobu Tojo Line. The driver of the car, a man in his 60s, was able to escape in time, and none of the some 800 train passengers were injured.
Authorities said the male driver was apparently attempting to drive through the crossing. “I was trapped inside the crossing because there were cars backed up ahead, and things started looking bad after the train started coming so I thought I’d better run.”
A witness told TV Asahi (Oct. 25), “A vehicle drove in when the crossing was about 70 percent closed. [The crash] sounded like really intense thunder.”
Passengers were escorted from the train to Narimasu Station some 150 meters away from the crash site by 6:10 p.m., according to Tobu Railway.
The incident shuttered the line for some four hours and 40 minutes in some areas, but full operations resumed by 10 p.m. after affecting some 70,000 commuters.