Colorado Springs man cited for driving into train asks for more safety measures to be taken
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- On Tuesday, a man failed to yield to an oncoming train just after 2 p.m. on Fillmore Street east of North Nevada Avenue.
The 80-year-old driver was cited after he failed to stop before the train tracks. The crossing is equipped with flashing lights and ringing bells but does not have safety gates.
The crash marks the second time in the past five years that a vehicle has collided with a train passing through the intersection. According to the Colorado Springs Police Department, the train passes through only twice a week.
While safety gates are not required at all railroad crossings, the driver involved is calling for additional safety measures at the site. Clark Lubbers says he has driven along the same road for 45 years and has never noticed a train passing.
“We hit the train, and we were dragged by the train,” Lubbers said.
Lubbers acknowledged that he did not see or hear the warnings before the collision occurred.
“I wasn't paying attention so that was my fault,” Lubbers said. “You don't think about a train because there's no bar that comes down. It's just there. So the train was coming in, and I just didn't see it; it was just plain and simple. I was focused straight ahead.”
Lubbers argued that physical safety gates are necessary for heavily traveled streets to alert drivers during the day.
“Maybe at night you could get away without a gate because the flashing lights, you couldn't miss the flashing lights in the dark,” Lubbers said. “But if you're going to do that in the day, I just don't understand why on a heavily trafficked street, they would not put a gate up.”
When asked if a safety gate is being considered for the crossing, city officials directed inquiries to the railway owner, who has not responded.
Lubbers said the experience served as a lesson for future driving.
“If it's a train track and there's not a gate, I'm certainly going to be a lot more cognizant of the possibility that a train can still go through that intersection,” Lubbers said.
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