A NETWORK Rail employee escaped relatively unscathed yesterday after a train smashed into his car at a level crossing.
Father of two Graham Macmillan, 44, was on his way to a shinty match when the accident happened yesterday morning at Bunchrew, five miles north of Inverness.
He suffered a broken wrist and suspected broken leg, and was conscious while firefighters
cut him free from his car.
Investigations were under way into the cause of the crash, but residents say the light at the level crossing, which has no barriers, sometimes failed to work.
A relative of Macmillan, who did not wish to be named, said: "It has been an accident waiting to happen. Graham has been using this road for 20 years, so he knows about the dangers and is very cautious about the crossing, so we think something must have happened with the lights. It is a miracle he was on his own. We are really thankful the kids weren't in the car with him. Who knows what would have happened then?"
The crash happened just 10 minutes after the two-coach train travelling to Wick, in Caithness, left Inverness railway station. None of the 40 passengers and crew on board the train was injured.
Firefighters at the scene said Macmillan was speaking to them while he was being rescued. One said: "He is a very lucky guy. The train struck the front of the vehicle and threw it forward quite a bit, landing on its side. The train stopped about a hundred yards further up the line."
A Network Rail spokesman, who did not realise the crash involved one of the company's employees, said: "That line is currently shut while engineers and the police deal with their inquiries. Our engineers are inspecting the crossing and the line."
