By Carlissa Robinson/MicroMemphis Reporter
A car was totaled early on the morning of May 5 at the intersection of Highland Street and Southern Avenue when the vehicle got stuck on the tracks and then was hit by an oncoming train.
The car was owned by University of Memphis student Angela Clark, who said her car was totaled in the incident.
“I’ve already got my ticket. I just want to get my keys so I can go home,” Clark said.
Clark said she was driving through the intersection at about 2 a.m. that Sunday morning when her car tires got stuck on the railroad tracks.
“My car got stuck five minutes before the train came," Clark said.
The car was owned by University of Memphis student Angela Clark, who said her car was totaled in the incident.
“I’ve already got my ticket. I just want to get my keys so I can go home,” Clark said.
Clark said she was driving through the intersection at about 2 a.m. that Sunday morning when her car tires got stuck on the railroad tracks.
“My car got stuck five minutes before the train came," Clark said.
Clark said the tracks never went down, causing her 2006 Scion Tc to get stuck in between the tracks. The tracks cross Highland Avenue right at the intersection with Southern. Just north of Southern is Walker Avenue, one of the main routes to the university campus.
“I was trying to turn on Walker when I got stuck. A man offered help to push me off the tracks, but when I looked up he was gone," Clark said.
Railroad workers, law enforcement, and Weeks Towing worked in cooperative efforts for more than two hours to get the car off the tracks.
The glass in the back window shattered, the bumper crushed upward toward the sunroof, and the muffler pressed downward, nearly scraping the ground. The towing company used a cable and chains to drag the car off the tracks, though it took several attempts and over an hour in the chilling 40 degree rain.
“There was nothing I could do,” Clark recalled as the train approached. “I got out my car and left it.”
Tow truck driver Monty Downs helped retrieve the vehicle that blocked the train.
“It’s pretty much totaled, a complete loss,” said Downs.
Around 4:30 a.m. the car was finally retrieved and the train that blocked multiple intersections, including the busy street of Highland was up and ready to move.
“I was trying to turn on Walker when I got stuck. A man offered help to push me off the tracks, but when I looked up he was gone," Clark said.
Railroad workers, law enforcement, and Weeks Towing worked in cooperative efforts for more than two hours to get the car off the tracks.
The glass in the back window shattered, the bumper crushed upward toward the sunroof, and the muffler pressed downward, nearly scraping the ground. The towing company used a cable and chains to drag the car off the tracks, though it took several attempts and over an hour in the chilling 40 degree rain.
“There was nothing I could do,” Clark recalled as the train approached. “I got out my car and left it.”
Tow truck driver Monty Downs helped retrieve the vehicle that blocked the train.
“It’s pretty much totaled, a complete loss,” said Downs.
Around 4:30 a.m. the car was finally retrieved and the train that blocked multiple intersections, including the busy street of Highland was up and ready to move.
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