Sometimes you're just in the exact wrong place at the exact wrong time. An Arizona woman was waiting at a notoriously congested intersection when she saw a semi-truck stopped on active railroad tracks with a train barreling toward it. What she captured on camera is a stark reminder of why you should never, ever stop on the tracks. Man Nearly Gets Hit by Train In a viral video with more than 337,000 views, content creator Erica Daponte (@evrybdyluvserica) shared the harrowing scene she witnessed while stopped in traffic. In the video, Daponte and a friend are stopped at an intersection waiting for the light to turn green. They appear to have been bopping along to a Kendrick Lamar song when suddenly they see a man fighting for his life. Across the intersection, one of those big semi-trucks is stopped for the light, but it appears to be stopped a bit too far forward. Normally, that would be fine—sure it would interfere with the crosswalk, but that’s not the end of the world. But in this case, being a few inches or feet off meant that the truck was on an active railroad track. In her video, Daponte captures the moment when the truck driver gets out of the truck and runs away before the oncoming train arrives. “He better get out,” Daponte says on the edge of her seat. The man got out just seconds before the train smashed into the front of the truck. The driver’s side, where the man was just sitting, got the brunt of the impact. “Oh my God, I cannot believe that just happened,” Daponte said. “What the [expletive] is wrong with people?” “I’m glad he got out,” her friend added in disbelief. “I can’t believe I just witnessed this! That man is so lucky he escaped at last min!” she added in the caption. What Really Happened? No injuries were reported, but the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office did cite the truck driver for unsafe railroad crossing, 12News reported. Union Pacific (the train company in the video) said in a statement that if a person gets stuck on railroad tracks, they should immediately exit their vehicle and move to a safe location. Once safe, they should find the blue emergency sign at the crossing and call the dispatcher's number so approaching trains can be stopped. Daponte described the intersection as frequently congested and noted that the warning signals—the traffic light turning red, the crossing arms coming down, and the warning bells—all activated simultaneously, leaving little reaction time for drivers who might find themselves in the wrong position. The incident left Daponte shaken, especially with her four children in the car. "I thought I was going to see him get crushed, but he got out safely," she said. "It gives me goose bumps just talking about it." Train Collisions: They Happen More Often Than You'd Think Railroad crossing collisions are shockingly common across the United States. According to Operation Lifesaver, 1,870 highway-rail grade crossing collisions occurred in 2025, resulting in 247 fatalities and 632 injuries nationwide. That works out to roughly one collision every 115 minutes. The National Safety Council reports that 27% of all railroad-related deaths in 2024 occurred at rail crossings. From 2023 to 2024, fatalities at highway-rail crossings actually increased by 7%, despite overall improvements in railroad safety. What's particularly alarming is how many of these accidents are completely preventable. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that in 2018, 336 drivers went around lowered gates and were struck by trains. Ninety-nine people died in those crashes, marking a 10-year high. In every state, it's illegal to go around lowered crossing gates or ignore warning signals. Part of the problem is that trains are deceptive. They appear to be moving much slower than they actually are due to their massive size. Once the train conductor sees danger ahead, there's not much they can do, at least not quickly. A freight train traveling at 55 mph can take over a mile to stop, even with emergency braking. Commenters React to Semi-Truck Driver’s Near-Miss “Why is he skedaddling away like he’s got all day,” a top comment read. “I live in Avondale , this train comes with noooo warning at times!!! Glad he made it safe,” a person said. “That’s scary AF!! thank God he had the situational awareness to get out,” another wrote. Motor1 reached out to Daponte for comment via Instagram and TikTok direct message. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team
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