A Potential Disaster Was Averted By Humberside Police After A Vehicle Was Left Abandoned On A Railroad Track In Hull

A former Royal Navy pilot who had spent some time as a train operator helped prevent a train from colliding with a car in the UK on Monday. The incident happened on the afternoon of October 3rd at when a car was requested to stop on Witty Street in Humberside, UK by a police patrol on the ground and failed to do so. The driver of the silver Ford Mondeo sedan eventually abandoned the vehicle on the railway lines close to Hawthorn Avenue leaving it in the path of an oncoming train.

MD 902 Explorer Military Variant

The force helicopter flown by former Royal Navy helicopter pilot Katheryn Chapman was called to the scene to help stop the train which was travelling on the eastbound line and officers from the Air Support Unit were able to alert the driver and stop the train before it was in collision with the car. Chapman told the Yorkshire Post she had been a train operator in 2007 and 2008 before joining the police.

Chapman said she had to fly the helo, an MD 902, at its "maximum speed" of about 120 knots to overtake the train before pulling to a hover and using the aircraft's landing lights to alert the train crew that there was a problem ahead. The train was stopped safely at around 2:26 p.m. local time. 
 
According to a police news release, nobody was injured in the incident and the vehicle was recovered by police as short time after the incident. The driver of the vehicle, a 40-year-old Hull man, was arrested by officers at the scene for failing to stop and suspected drugs offences. He has now been released on police bail pending further enquiries.
 
"This was a reckless act by the driver of the vehicle, which could have resulted in the deaths of a number of people, but as a result of the quick thinking of the Humberside Police helicopter crew it was avoided," said Chief Superintendent (Operations) Colin Andrews. "It is not the first time the Humberside Police helicopter has prevented a train crash. The pilot and crew on board are to be congratulated for their quick thinking, which prevented a potential tragedy. This incident is just one example of how versatile the force helicopter can be."

FMI: www.humberside.police.uk