Del. motorist rescued from oncoming train

NEWARK, Del. - February 23, 2012 (WPVI) -- Two passersby are being credited with pulling a stuck motorist out of the path of an oncoming train in Delaware.

It was just after 4:00 a.m. Thursday when the driver, 24-year-old Monique Dyton, was travelling along with her sister, 22-year-old Christina Johnson, northbound on New London Road and West Main Street in Newark.

Dyton then made a left turn on what she thought was a road and ended up getting stuck on the railroad tracks.

RELATED:See photos of the crash aftermath

Dyton stayed in the car trying to accelerate off the tracks as Johnson got out and pushed the car from the rear.

Police say two passersby, Sean Brown and Clifford Fose, saw the women and offered their assistance.

As they began to help, Brown and Fose say the train gates activated, and they could hear the sound of an approaching train.

"We get out of the truck, we're trying to lift the car, [and] next thing you know, 'ding-ding-ding-ding-ding,'" Fose said.

Police say they told Dyton to get out of the car, but she continued to try to accelerate off the tracks. Finally Brown and Fose pulled her from the driver seat and escorted her to safety.

Police say a few moments later a westbound CSX train hit the car, pushing it several hundred feet before throwing it from the tracks.

The car received extensive rear-end damage.

No one was injured, but it is the latest incident in which a motorist made the same mistake at this location.

Their mother wonders when something is going to be done.

"My heart just sunk cause all I could think about is [they] could have been killed," Angela Taylor said.

A surveillance camera at nearby Wonderland Records has captured more than 15 of the crashes over the last few years with motorists narrowly escaping with their lives.

"We do have a lot of car crashes. Mostly it's people coming the wrong&or people getting lost in this intersection; it's kind of confusing if you don't know the layout," Steve Brodie of Wonderland Records said.

CSX train traffic was halted and the roadway at the train crossing was closed for approximately two and a half hours while authorities investigated the crash.

Late tonight, a CSX spokesman says representatives plan to meet with officials in Newark to figure out what to do about this ongoing hazard.

Meantime, Taylor wonders if the next person will be so lucky.

"I'm hoping that the officials will look into this more and do something about it before someone ends up dead," Taylor said.

In the past, officials have tried to find solutions only to learn those solutions created other problems. And so to date, a dangerous situation remains an unsolved problem.

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delaware, train accident, newark, local/state

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