Volkswagen Jetta Hit By Freight Train on Aurora’s West Side
Aurora police are continuing to investigate an early morning crash on Saturday, Dec. 15, in which a vehicle being driven by a 25-year-old Aurora man was stuck by a train on Prairie Street west of Orchard Road.
According to the Aurora Police Department Facebook page, Mark A. Lacek of the 1800 block of Kenilworth Place was able to jump out of his 2012 Volkswagen Jetta before the collision and was not injured.
The collision took place around 1:20 a.m. Saturday, when Lasek said he pulled off to the side of the road on Prairie Street so he could text someone.
When Lasek tried to get back onto the roadway, he apparently turned onto the railroad tracks by mistake and the Jetta got stuck on the tracks, police said.
The engineer of an eastbound Burlington Northern freight train traveling at about 30 mph saw the stranded car as he approached the scene, according to police reports He sounded the horn and hit the emergency brake but could not stop in time before colliding with the rear of the vehicle.
The engineer also was not injured.
Lacek was charged with operating an uninsured motor vehicle and unlawfully entering a highway rail grade.
Further charges have not been ruled out, police said.
SOURCE: Aurora Police Department