‘Very lucky’ driver escapes injury, but charged after freight train clips SUV north of Bend

(Update: More details of crash; charges against driver)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A 32-year-old Bend man was uninjured but was charged with reckless driving, uninsured and with a suspended license after his SUV was clipped by a freight train at a crossing north of Bend Monday afternoon.

Deschutes County sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Brown said deputies were dispatched shortly after 1 p.m. to a reported vehicle-train crash in the Juniper Acres area near milepost 132 of Highway 97, about a quarter-mile east of the highway.

An investigation determined that the driver was trying to cross the BNSF Railway tracks on an unimproved road, at a crossing controlled by stop and railroad crossing signs. Brown said the man said he was not paying attention and did not see the train as he tried to cross the tracks.

The northbound train struck the front of the man’s SUV, with the driver still inside, causing serious damage but no injuries, Brown said.

Brown said the driver “wasn’t paying attention” and was “very lucky” he was not hurt.

The driver was arrested by citation for reckless driving and also cited for driving with a suspended license and driving uninsured. He was released at the scene.

An officer with the BNSF Railway Police assisted sheriff’s deputies at the scene.

The northbound train, heading from California to Pasco, Washington, was going about 50 mph when it struck the vehicle, BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas said. The locomotive had “minimal damage” to the step area, as the train “just barely grazed” the SUV, Melonas said, but the tracks were shut down for about two hours for the investigation and an inspection of the train and tracks.

The closure caused “minimal delays” on the route, which is traveled by about a half-dozen trains a day, Melonas said.