The tones dropped at 1852 hours as St. Lawrence County Central Dispatch alerted the Potsdam Fire Department for car vs. train accident at the Pine Street crossing. Engine 48 was en route at 1853 with Fire Driver Lozipone at the wheel. He arrived on scene at 1855 to find the train stopped and a car that had obviously been struck on the Sandstone Drive side of the crossing. The driver of the car suffered minor injuries and refused transport by ambulance to the hospital. Rescue 14 and Rescue 30 responded to assist with traffic control on both sides of the crossing. The train remained stopped for several hours as the entire train was inspected prior to going under way again, as is required by law. The driver of the car was extremely lucky that he was not a little later in crossing the tracks as he could very well have been pushed down the tracks onto the trestle or pushed into the river. This should serve as an example to all to heed the warning signals and crossing arms at railroad crossings. All units were back in service at 2108 hours.
