A video has captured the shocking moment an alleged drink driver smashed their car into a train.
CCTV footage showed the moment driver Lin Nan sped through a train crossing barrier at the same time a locomotive was rolling through. Lin is said to have hit the white car into the side of the train, with the vehicle being thrown to the side as the train goes through the crossing.
The video ends with a care safely navigating its way through the crossing after the barriers are raised. According to Fox news, an onlooker then rushes to help the motorist.
ViralPress says Lin, who only suffered minor injuries, told officers he had been out drinking the night before and had woken up and gone out to attempt to buy breakfast Monday morning.
The driver told officers that he had not seen the train, which had been carrying 370 passengers near the town of Jiamin. However, the red and white barrier was lowered to indicate a train had been passing through.
Police breathalysed the motorist and found he had a blood alcohol content of 0.30 milligrams per deciliter, twice the legal limit for Taiwan. According to reports, he was arrested for for drink driving and putting members of the public in danger.
Passengers on the train were unharmed. They did however have to wait over two hours for a new train to pick them up.
The train had to be taken for repairs.
“We urge people not to drive after drinking. We must also remind drivers to be careful when crossing level crossings, and to always yield to trains,” the Hualien Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said in a statement following the incident.
