A video being taken to show the dangers of a railway crossing ended up capturing the real thing when an Amtrak train smashed through a truck carrying strawberries in Oxnard, Calif.
Gaspar Medina told Associated Press Television News that the incident happened just minutes after setting up his two cameras on Monday afternoon.
The six-wagon train, carrying 80 passengers, did not derail. Two passengers were treated for neck and chest injuries. The truck driver was not injured.
Witnesses told police that the truck, driven by a Theresa Ann Senator of South Dakota, drove under the crossing arms that were being lowered and then stopped on the tracks, according to the Ventura County Star newspaper.
Amtrak passenger Kathleen Paine described the impact as "like hitting a brick wall," the newspaper reported.
Another passenger, Mark Lindgren, said "it felt like you were hitting a gigantic pothole."
Police said the impact caused the train’s engine to separate from the six cars it was pulling, but Amtrak denied that.
Medina said he felt the warning bells had not given the truck driver enough time to move out of the crossing.
The Star newspaper said the truck had been carrying 37,000 pounds of strawberries.