In Warmątowice, a 66-year-old ignored the sign "STOP", entered the railway tracks, and then left the car, leaving a sleeping passenger. The tragedy was avoided through the rapid reaction of an accidental witness.
How did a dangerous incident occur?
Everything happened late at night,4 October, on Centawska Street in Warmątowice. The woman leading the Renault Clio drove through a rail crossing without horns and - convinced that the tracks had passed - turned right, heading directly to the track. The car hung on the rails. At that time the light signals were turned off – it's an analogous situation to those when someone in the dark confuses the path with the road.
The witness' heroic reaction saved his life.
A 62-year-old man was sleeping in the passenger seat – he had more than two proms of alcohol. The woman, seeing the lights of the train coming, had already left the vehicle, but left a man inside.
- Dramaturgy of the situation is added by the fact that the man slept so hard that he did not react to danger.
- Fortunately, a 45-year-old passing driver from the county of Kędzierzyno-Kozelski immediately rushed to help and pulled a sleeping passenger out of the car, drawing him to safety.
- The witness suffered a leg injury during a rescue.
Seconds from the tragedy
The passenger train of the Gliwice-Opole relationship, which was coming from the Gliwice side, failed to stop in time and hit the car, pushing it by several meters. Train passengers are fine.
Police quickly determined that the driver was sober, while the sleeping passenger had over 2 proms of alcohol. A 66-year-old lost her driver's license, and the case is being handled by local police. The car, despite serious damage, did not cause damage to the passengers of the train.
What do the experts say?
The event shows how easy it is to confuse the route in the dark – especially on unprotected railway crossings. Many drivers do not realize that even a second delay can have serious consequences. Similar incidents occur most often on rural passes, where infrastructure is more modest and marking less visible.
