A man escaped injury somehow when his jeep was struck by a freight train in Chili and dragged about 25 feet down the tracks.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says the 59-year-old Chili man was driving on Archer Road between Prestwick Lane and Clay Hill Road when he came on the tracks and found the gates down. Although the lights were flashing, he drove around the gates and tried to cross the tracks. But the train was backing towards the crossing, and struck the jeep, lifting it up and carrying it down the tracks.
The driver was issued a ticket for passing the gates. The train was stuck across the highway for four hours while a broken air hose was repaired. The jeep was removed and by 11 p.m. the train moved on and the road reopened.