A 38-year old Pembroke man is listed in fair condition at St. Joseph's Health Centre in Sudbury after the pickup truck he was driving was struck by a freight train on Lasalle Blvd.
The incident occurred shortly after 8 am Saturday at a railway crossing on Lasalle Blvd., east of Falconbridge Rd.
According to police, Robert Gagne was approaching a well indicated, yet uncontrolled railway crossing when he attempted to stop for a passing northbound train. When Gagne hit the brakes, his pickup truck slid on the ice-packed road. Gagne eventually regained control of the vehicle, stopping directly on the train tracks.
The train's engineer, Jim Dubois, 48, was approximately 250 yards from the crossing. He attempted an emergency stop but to no avail. Gagne's truck was struck by the 5,865-ton train.
While there were signs posted alerting motorists of the uncontrolled rail crossing, there were no bells, flashing lights or descending gates.
Police are reminding citizens to drive according to road conditions and to beware of controlled and uncontrolled rail crossings. A fully-loaded freight train will take more than half a kilometre before coming to a complete stop.
