Driver, child flee car just before it's hit by train

An adult and a child escaped injury after their car got stuck on railroad tracks in Coon Rapids, was hit by a freight train and caught fire near an empty liquefied petroleum gas tank car, according to authorities.

Firefighters kept the train from catching fire.

The crash involving the westbound BNSF Railway train at Northdale Boulevard and N. 119th Avenue occurred late Saturday, according to the Coon Rapids Fire Department.

Fire personnel arrived to find the train had stopped and the unoccupied car ablaze next to one of multiple LPG tank cars, the Fire Department said.

Firefighters put out the flames and cooled the tank with water.

BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth said all the LPG tank cars were empty at the time of the incident.

"We were told by a BNSF track employee that the LPG tank had little to no product in it," Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Gilsrud said, "but we were not able to verify that with the train engineer."

Gilsrud said police on the scene determined that the motorist was following GPS while heading east on 119th Avenue before trying to turn right onto southbound Northdale but "mistakenly turned on the tracks ... prior to Northdale, got stuck and saw a train coming."

The driver and child got out in time and without injury, police said.

The tracks were shut down for about 90 minutes until about 11 p.m. During that time, Northstar rail service between Fridley and Big Lake was halted following the Minnesota Twins game at Target Field. Buses were brought in to pick up passengers in Fridley.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482