Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area

1961, February 18 - Crossing Accident, Carlsbad Springs, CNR Alexandria sub., no injuries

From the Ottawa Citizen 20 February 1961 Helpless Molorist Sees Train Demolish His Car CARLSBAD SPRINGS (Staff) - A Carlsbad Springs motorist was forced to stand by and see his car demolished when it was struck by an Ottawa-to-Mont-real CNR diesel train here Saturday night Carlsbad Springs is 15 miles east of Ottawa. Police said the car became stuck on the tracks after sliding off the boards between the rails at ihe level crossing in the town. The owner, Joseph Edward Phillips, 43, of Carlsbad Springs, and three other men who were passing by at the time, tried to push the vehicle off the tracks but failed to do so. When they heard the train coming, they left the stranded car and the diesel engine smashed into it, knocking it nearly 50 feet. No one was injured in the smash, which occurred at 9.40 p.m. When the engine struck Mr. Phillips' car it was hurled through the air and struck the rear of a car owned by Lucien Carriere, 40, of RR1, Carlsbad Springs, who was one of the men who tried to push Mr. Phillips' car off the tracks. Mr. Carriere, who saw Mr. Phillips attempting to get his vehicle off the tracks, parked his own auto about 59 feet away from the scene of the crash. On Icy Road The approach to the scene of the crash is at the top of a hilL Police said Mr. Carriere had reached the top of the icy hill but then his car skidded off to one side of the boards between the rails. It was then that the front wheels of his car became stuck between the rails. Police did not identify the two other passersby who tried to help Mr. Phillips and Mr. Carriere push the car off the tracks. Police reported that the train was travelling between 65 and 70 miles an hour when it struck the car. The engineer on the train was W. Breeze, of Montreal, and the conductor was D. Jodoin, also of Montreal. The train was delayed for about half an hour. Constables Bill Brown and Ronald Logan, of the Gloucester-Nepean police force, investigated.

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Updated 2 February 2020