Unnamed hero prevents tragedy before train collides with vehicle in Springville
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- A car that was hit by a train on Saturday night, April 12, 2025, in Springville is pictured.
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- A train that collided with a car on a railroad track Saturday night, April 12, 2025, in Springville is pictured.
A heroic act by an unnamed person helped prevent a tragedy on a railroad track in Springville on Saturday.
A vehicle got stuck between the crossing gates at the railroad crossing at 400 West and 400 North on Saturday evening when a train was approaching and the driver delayed exiting, according to Springville Fire and Rescue.
A person responded by helping the driver out of the car just before the train made impact with the vehicle and dragged it 100 yards, the fire department said.
Springville Fire also lauded the efforts of the BNSF train engineer who noticed the vehicle on the tracks and hit his brakes, giving the driver enough time to escape.
“A great job by the BNSF engineer (who) also saved her life due to his attentiveness and quick action,” a release said. “The BNSF supervisor said it is not normal to slow as fast and as safely as he did, feathering five engine brakes.”
The accident occurred next to a neighborhood, where resident and high school student Brenson Woodward said he was home watching “Criminal Minds” when he heard a loud blaring sound.
“We did hear the train just honking a lot. Just constantly, pretty much never letting up on the horn,” Woodward told the Daily Herald. “And then it was almost like a cap gun going off. Like, if you had a cap gun (next to you) and the cap popped — it was about that loud.”
Immediately after, Woodward said he saw emergency response vehicles rushing to the scene.
He did not see which side of the road the car was crossing from, but hypothesized it was going westbound, where there is a slight incline on the road before the tracks.
“It’d probably be easier to stall going (west),” he said.
The accident temporarily closed the 400 West railroad crossings at 400 North and Center Street.
A resident who lives near the railroad tracks by the State Street crossing, Donald Lamb, was unaware of the accident but said over 20 years ago a truck was hit by a train on the same tracks near his house, and he always thought another collision would happen.
“(This) is evidence that it did happen again, but it just took a long time,” Lamb said.
In the accident 20-plus years ago, Lamb said he recalled being out in the yard with his children when he saw a truck get stuck on the tracks while trying to turn onto a dirt road as a train approached.
“I saw the train coming and I had my children with me so I said, ‘Run, let’s run!'” Lamb recalled. “So we ran to the back of the house and bam! That train hit the truck and pushed it down the little dirt road that was next to the railroad tracks.
“We didn’t know if the truck was going to fly through the air or what. But it stayed on the ground. It just kind of crumpled it and pushed it down that dirt road over there.”
No injuries were reported in the accident Saturday night.
