School Van Nearly Struck By Train

WHITMAN, MA — Police in Whitman are investigating how a school minivan with a student inside ended up feet away from being struck by a train. Officials confirmed that at 5:15 p.m. Monday, an MBTA Commuter Rail train nearly struck the van at a railroad crossing on Essex Street. The van and the train did not make contact. No injuries were reported.

Police have a video from a person driving behind the van and are asking for more information.

“We are asking anyone who saw this incident to please come forward as we gather information about what happened,” Whitman Police Chief Scott Benton said. “We are extremely thankful that no one was injured and that there was no collision between the van and the train. We are taking this incident very seriously and are actively investigating at this time.”

The video obtained by police shows the van between the railroad crossing gates and is parallel with the train tracks. The 26-second clip shows what appears to be the last few cars of an MBTA Commuter Rail train passing by, coming within feet of the van.

Once the train went by and the gates were raised, the video shows the van backing up into the proper lane of traffic and driving away, police said.

Throughout the video, the van had a school bus sign on its roof in the upright position, signifying that a child was on board.

The initial investigation indicates that the van driver stopped just before the tracks and that one of the gates came down on top of the van. The driver maneuvered the van off the tracks but was unable to get around the gates before the train came, according to police.

State law requires that all school buses stop completely at all railroad crossings between 15-50 feet away from the train tracks.

The driver has been identified by Whitman Police and is cooperating with police.

The van is owned by North River Collaborative, a Rockland-based educational organization that specializes in assisting children with special needs. North River Collaborative is contracted by the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District. The company transports students with special needs throughout the state.

It is unclear at this time what the van’s route was.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Whitman Police Department at 781-447-1212.

Information from a press release was used in this story.

Image via Shutterstock