SUNBURY -- A man was sent to a hospital after his vehicle collided with a train in Northumberland County.
It happened Tuesday afternoon in Sunbury, causing downtown traffic to be diverted for hours.
The crash happened at the intersection of Third and Arch Streets around 3 p.m.
People who work nearby say the crash halted the train and brought first responders and onlookers running to the scene.
“I was in the middle room here, mopping the floor, and I heard the train give a squeal out and then it stopped. Then I thought maybe something happened,” said Todd Young at McGuigan’s Public House. “Then I heard the sirens. I thought something happened. Somebody got hit. Then I looked up and saw the cop running up the street. The car was facing this way.”
“We heard noises and then we went running out and that's when we saw the car sitting alongside the train, looking like it was underneath it,” said Russ Kinslow at Drastic Pleasures Tattoo Studio.
The train remained stopped while crews worked to remove the driver, Michael Shingara, 22, from the vehicle who police say was trapped inside.
Shingara was taken to Geisinger Medical Center near Danville where he was listed in serious condition.
“It looked pretty bad. I mean the train looked like it was actually almost sitting on top of the car,” said Russ. “They covered the part of the stuff up and then started cutting the roof off.”
“You could tell it was a bad accident because the whole front of the roof of the car was all gone,” said Christina Kinslow.
Investigators from both Sunbury police and the train`' owner, Norfolk Southern, remained with the train until roughly 5 p.m. During that time, traffic had to be diverted around Market Street.
Roads reopened once the train left.
Still, many people in Sunbury say train collisions happen here more than people realize.
“Everybody's always in a hurry. They always try to beat the trains, to cross the intersection. The only place they really watch is here at the red light,” said Russ.
Sunbury police say none of the train's operators were injured in the collision.
The crash is under investigation.
Police are asking anyone who witnessed the crash to call the Sunbury Police Department at 570-286-4587.