Police shine helicopter spotlight to avert train crash in nick of time

Using their helicopter’s spotlight, a Riverside police chopper crew was able to signal to a freight train to stop before it hit a disabled truck on the tracks, authorities said.

The incident occurred Saturday night near Dewey Street and Streeter Avenue, according to a Riverside Police Department press release. The police learned that a vehicle had rolled over on the tracks, with a two-mile-long BNSF freight train rolling down the same line about two miles away.

The chopper crew “immediately flew ahead of the train and descended into the conductor’s field of view,” the statement read. “Using their spotlight, they signaled to the conductor to stop the train. Next, they located the stuck car in the residential area of Dewey Street and Carlo Street and continued signaling for the conductor to stop. The train eventually came to a stop about 40 feet East of the car on the tracks.”

The occupant of the car was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, police said.

The police statement said the train’s crew later credited the flight crew for averting a crash.

“After being contacted by ground units, the conductor said had it not been for the flight crew intervening to signal him, he would not have had enough time to stop the train before striking the vehicle,” the statement said.