This image captured by AIR-1’s tactical flight officer shows the train stopped just 40 feet from the car’s location. Riverside PD Photo
On Saturday night, April 23, 2016, at approximately 10:20 p.m., the Riverside (California) Police Department’s Air Support Unit (AIR-1) was working a call in the area of Panorama Road and Olivewood Avenue. At the same time, a radio call was dispatched regarding a vehicle that had lost control, rolled over and come to rest directly on the railroad tracks in the area of Dewey Street and Streeter Avenue.
The flight crew noticed a BNSF train traveling west on the tracks directly below them at the time the call was dispatched and realized the train was on the same set of tracks, about two miles from the location of the stuck car.
They immediately flew ahead of the train and descended into the conductor’s field of view. 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. Meanwhile, the driver of the car had been able to exit and was standing on the sidewalk when ground units arrived. It was determined the driver was intoxicated and later arrested and booked into jail for drunk driving.
This train was approximately two miles long. As a result of their incredible weight, they normally require a long distance to come to a complete stop. 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.
