A construction truck wound up on railroad tracks in Richland early Saturday and was struck by a freight train — but the driver was pulled out just 16 seconds before impact. According to WBAL NewsRadio, the crash happened shortly after 12:30 a.m. when a construction truck collided with another vehicle. The other vehicle hit a railroad gate and drifted onto the tracks, where it stopped just before the warning gates lowered for an approaching train.
The rescue came down to 16 seconds
The Neptune Fire Company said firefighters Kevin Kepley and Daulton Faust, along with bystander Rory Righter, immediately moved toward the stranded truck. They got the lone occupant out moments before the freight train reached the crossing.
The Richland-based department, which has served the borough for more than a century, operates as the Neptune Fire Company. Its crews were already close enough to respond when the vehicle ended up in the train’s path.
“Due to the actions of our firemen and the bystander who all just happened to be at the right place at the right time, the single occupant of the vehicle escaped uninjured,” the department said, as reported by WBAL. Authorities said the driver was okay after the collision.
Truck was hit after landing on tracks
The available reports do not identify the driver or explain what caused the initial crash. They also do not indicate whether anyone in the other vehicle or on the train was injured.
For the rescued driver, however, the timeline was brutally simple: a collision, a disabled truck on active tracks, a descending gate and less than 20 seconds to get clear. The quick response from two firefighters and a passerby prevented the crash from becoming far more serious.
