The Geelong train crash occurred when a truck struck a train at a railway crossing. Source BusandTrain/Wikimedia
A train crash occurred in Victoria’s Geelong this morning when a truck collided with a Melbourne bound V/line train, with the driver of the truck dying at the scene.
Paramedics arrived on the scene at a level crossing near Barwon Terrace in South Geelong, at roughly 6:40 am. They found the male truck driver in the back of his vehicle. He had received life-threatening injuries from the accident, and was treated by first-responders. Unfortunately, he was unable to be revived and died at the scene.
The train driver was uninjured and no passenger were onboard when the truck and train struck each other.
It is still unknown why the two vehicles collided with each other and a police investigation is in progress.
A witness who was at the scene before emergency services told the Geelong Advertiser that people were rushing to assist those involved in the incident.
“It happened very quickly… people started running over from job sites nearby [to assist],” she said.
Radio station Bay 939 reported another witness, a Breakwater woman named Amy, who was leaving home when she heard the Geelong train crash occur.
“I heard the train gates come down … and I heard the train whistle go as it does at every intersection, but I heard a kind of extended version of it,” she said to Geelong Broadcasters this morning.
“Then I heard the smash, so I’ve come down [and saw] the V/Line train is stuck on the line, the boom gates are stuck down and traffic coming down Barwon Terrace is turning around and going back down Breakwater Road.”
The Geelong train crash has led to the suspensions of Geelong and Warrnambool train services, with buses replacing trains in both directions until further notice, with lengthy delays expected. This has caused major disruptions for commuters during morning peak-hour, and may continue into the evening and night.
