A motorist fell asleep while his car was stopped on railroad tracks Thursday — but survived uninjured when a Union Pacific cargo train cut his vehicle in half.
The collision occurred at 1:15 a.m. at the track crossing on San Fernando Road and Branford Street, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The driver, an elderly man, was uninjured but was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, Sgt. Dave Mascarenas of the Los Angeles Police Department Valley Traffic division told the newspaper.
The man drove his Hyundai Sonata past the caution arm of the tracks. A 59-car train struck the car and ripped it in half, leaving the driver in the rear part, Mascarenas said.
The force of the accident caused the tracks underneath the train to bend and buckle all the way to its destination in Sylmar, he said.
