A train enthusiast captured the heart-pounding moment a train nearly tore a Pepsi van to shreds in Virginia.
Bob Brown was filming the crossing gate near US Highway 58 in South Boston, Va., on July 13 as a coal train approached.
The video shows the Pepsi van driving toward the crossing before slamming on the brakes and bumping into the arm of the gate.
The driver then slightly reverses away from the tracks, bending the gate’s arm backward, but stops before appearing to drive the van forward intentionally.
The van then crosses over the tracks, narrowly avoiding being turned into twisted metal by the train.
“It was a miracle that he made it,” Brown told YourGV.com.
“Based on the speed of the train and the speed of the van, I thought we were going to see crumpled metal or worse, but he made it.”
The train was ultimately forced to come to a stop after the potentially fatal incident.
Brown posted the video on Facebook, which amassed over 30,000 views.
Commenters on the social media platform were stunned that the driver appeared to pull forward after stopping safely from the tracks and right as the train passed through the crossing.
“Wow… definitely needs to reevaluated as a driver,” one user wrote.
“Pepsi driver needs to be reported,” another commented.
“That poor train driver was probably having a stroke trying to slow down too,” another alluded.
Tommy Cobbs, 53, was reported to be the driver of the Pepsi van, YourGV.com reported — citing an incident report from the Virginia State Police.
Cobbs was not injured during the incident.
He was charged by police with failure to obey signs and markings, according to the outlet.
The collision caused $2,000 in damage, the report from the Virginia State Police stated.
More than 2,000 incidents and 200 fatalities at grade crossings occur each year around the US, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
