Bystanders rescue elderly man just moments before train smashes into car

AUBURN, Wash. — A disoriented senior citizen who drove onto the BNSF railroad tracks in Auburn by mistake was rescued moments before a freight train slammed into his car.

Valley Regional Firefighters were called to the scene at 9 p.m. Friday and found a car that had been dragged about 150-feet down the northbound tracks.

The man who had been driving was standing on the porch of a nearby home.

Witnesses say they saw the car turn onto Third N.W. and then take another turn on to the tracks, thinking it was a road.

They ran to the vehicle and found an elderly man who appeared disoriented. They pulled him from the car about 45 seconds before a northbound train struck the vehicle.

No one was injured in the incident. The Auburn Police are investigating.