WEST SPRINGFIELD — A driver and passenger were injured when the car they were in was struck by a train and pushed about 2,000 feet down the tracks Saturday night.
The two people were taken to the hospital with injuries that are not considered life-threatening. No one on the train was hurt, said West Springfield Deputy Fire Chief William Grassetti.
The crash took place late Saturday night on Front Street. Agawam Police and Fire departments, which also responded to the collision, put out an alert at about 11 p.m. saying Bridge Street, which crosses over the Westfield River into West Springfield, would be closed for several hours while the scene was investigated and cleared.
The crash involved a CSX train and took place at a street-level train crossing. The train was heading westbound and is believed to have just left the station and was not going that fast when it struck the vehicle, Grassetti said.
“The conductor saw the car but was unable to stop on time,” he said.
There are stop gates at the crossing. Police are investigating to see what went wrong before the crash, including examining footage from cameras that are near the intersection, Grassetti said.
CSX also contacted Fire Department officials to find out more information about the collision, he said.
This is not the first time someone has been hit by a train at that intersection. At least one crash was fatal, Grassetti said.
In December 2022, a driver was injured when he was struck by a train at the same spot. In 2012, a Springfield man was injured and his car destroyed after he tried to beat the train at the intersection. A year later, a train struck a car that was left on the tracks.
