MBTA says man drove around crossing gate, colliding with train in Abington

ABINGTON M.A. - A Kingston man suffered minor injuries after a commuter rail train struck his car this afternoon, police said. None of the 20 passengers on the northbound commuter train reported injuries, said Fire Chief Arthur Pelland. The MBTA said the driver was in the path of the train because he had driven around the crossing gate.

On Friday, the town saw its seventh train accident in as many years, a number that town officials believe should be far lower.A Kingston man suffered minor injuries Friday afternoon when his car was struck by a Massachusetts Bay Transporation Authority commuter train at the North Avenue crossing.

The MBTA is accusing the man of driving around the crossing gate onto the tracks, according to agency spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

Abington Selectman Thomas Corbett says the crash is more proof that changes are needed to the rail system – such as slower trains and gates that keep cars from getting on the tracks.

“It’s a serious problem,” he said. “But it’s being worked on both by the town and by the MBTA.”

Friday’s crash took place about 1:47 p.m. and forced traffic to be detoured around the train crossings at North Avenue and Wales Street for more than an hour.

The driver, 31-year-old Kevin Rutledge, is being cited by MBTA transit police for failing to stop at a railroad crossing, Pesaturo said.

None of the 20 passengers on the northbound train reported injuries, said Fire Chief Arthur Pelland.

Including Friday’s accident, there have been seven train crashes in Abington since 2001, the largest number of any community on the Old Colony rail line, Corbett said.

The town has also had the most fatal train crashes on the line – three – since its service resumed in 1997.

Pesaturo, the MBTA spokesman, said many safety precautions are already in place.

“It has an elaborate warning system –lights, bells, gates – that tell the motorist to stop and let the train pass through,” he said. “We can’t change the habits of a motorist.”

Corbett, though, believes more can be done. He said the MBTA recently attended a selectmen meeting on the issue, and is looking into the town’s requests for slower trains and different gates.

“We’re building a case and presenting it,” Corbett said, though he acknowledged that it would’ve been easier to ask for changes prior to the re-opening of the line.

The tracks cross five streets over a roughly one-mile stretch in Abington. Town officials are also asking for “no-whistle” zones to reduce noise levels.

Cutter, the deputy chief, said the driver in Friday’s crash was “very lucky” because the train struck the rear passenger side of his 2003 Chevrolet Impala, causing the car to spin away from the train.

The train was also in the process of changing tracks and its speed was slower than normal, Cutter said.