WATCH: GO train narrowly misses striking 3 young people on tracks
Posted May 30, 2022 6:57 am.
Last Updated May 30, 2022 10:19 am.
Metrolinx has released shocking new video from a GO train in an effort to reinforce the dangers that come with walking on train tracks.
The alarming footage is shot from the front of a train on the Milton line as it travels through Toronto’s west-end on May 20.
The video captures the moment the eastbound GO train is crossing a bridge over the Humber River, near Highway 401 and Weston Road, when it narrowly misses three young people on the tracks who make an effort to dodge the passing train.
“As they travelled across the overpass, the crew spotted a young person clinging to the fence on the edge of the bridge and only narrowly missed him,” says Metrolinx in a release. “Then they saw two more young people up ahead running on the track as if they were trying to outrun the train.”
Related:
The crew on board the train slammed on the brakes and hit the horn once they saw the first individual on the tracks, Metrolinx says. The video shows the train coming to a full stop shortly after the bridge.
“At the last second they jumped out of the way,” says Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins. ‘We were mere seconds from having to make the worst call of our lives to parents, to tell them their children were no longer with them.”
“The crew was very traumatized thinking they were going to kill three young people that day.”
The agency says the young people fled the scene once the train stopped. No injuries were reported despite the GO train allegedly missing one of the individuals by a foot.
Metrolinx says the footage was released to help illustrate the importance of staying off of train tracks and to “appeal to the parents” of the three individuals.
“We aren’t looking to be punitive, but we are very eager to speak with your children to help educate them and ensure they never ever take this kind of risk again,” says Steve Weir, Metrolinx manager of customer protective services.
According to Operation Lifesaver, more than 100 Canadians are killed or suffer serious injuries due to incidents on train tracks. Officials say almost every single one of the incidents involving trains is preventable.
“During the pandemic it was happening more because there were fewer trains,” says Aikins. “We don’t want that to continue.”
