At approximately 8:23 PM, on Sunday, December 12, 2004, Castle Rock (CO) Police and Fire units responded to a reported train and vehicle accident at the railroad track crossing of Third and Front Streets.
Upon arrival, officers and rescue personnel found a severely damaged 1997 red Dodge Stratus in the ditch just north of the intersection with one adult male driver, conscious and breathing, inside.
The collision occurred about 1-1/2 blocks from the location where the vehicle came to rest. This location is about 50 feet from Castle Rock Fire Department, Station 1, however located on the other side of the train from where the entrapped victim was.
Crews extricated the driver from the vehicle and he was then airlifted to Swedish Medical Center. The victim was eligible for medical release later that night, but remains at the center for observation.
According to witnesses, the victim drove his vehicle south on the tracks deliberately as if to hit the train head-on. The vehicle was struck near the Second Street crossing and was dragged north for more than a block before coming to rest in the ditch.
