GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga — A woman is telling Channel 2 Action News about the scary moment a train rammed into her husband’s car on the train tracks.
The crash happened on Holcomb Bridge Road in downtown Norcross Dec. 4. The driver’s wife told Channel 2’s Amy Napier Viteri, her husband didn’t have time to move out of the way.
The incident report says Matt Parker got stuck on the tracks when the car driving ahead of him suddenly stopped right before the crossing arms came down. His wife, Megan Parker, said Matt was trying to move the car into a ditch when the train slammed into him.
“I can’t even believe they pulled him out of that,” Parker said.
Parker said she was told the fact that the car was moving forward was critical.
“(It) really saved his life because the car absorbed a lot of energy,” she said.
Parker shared pictures of what’s left of her husband’s car. Nearly the entire driver’s side is gone. The car was also crushed and twisted on impact.
Witnesses say the car flipped several times and landed upside down. Incredibly, Matt ended up with a broken collarbone, bruises and a badly cut hand.
“He remembers seeing the train and knowing he was going to get hit,” Parker said.
The next thing he recalls is being upside down with the paramedics talking to him.
“I’m praying that he doesn’t remember the impact and the flipping in the car, ever,” Parker said.
Matt is home now and in considerable pain, but grateful considering how different the outcome could have been.
“You don’t often hear, you know, ‘Car accident, train, he’s doing OK’ in the same sentence," Parker said.
The accident report also says Matt was wearing his seat belt at the time of the accident. In all, he spent two nights in the hospital and didn’t even need surgery.