A Champaign man says he's happy to be alive after a freak accident involving a train.
Tracy Turner says a problem with his truck's accelerator sent it careening head first into the fast moving train.
It happened Sunday morning just off of Highway 45 in Neoga.
"When you're going head on, it's like you're challenging something that's monstrous," says Turner, "like a bug hitting a windshield."
Turner and a passenger were waiting on a train to pass at the 7th Street crossing when his truck suddenly revved up, taking off towards the train as Turner stomped the brakes and fought with the wheel.
Neoga resident, Norman Hughes was behind turner when his truck took off. He says it was clear something went wrong.
"My wife commented, she was with me, she said I believe that guy's mad because the trains been there so long and he's going to go around it," says Hughes. "I said no there's something bad wrong."
Turner says he turned off the road to avoid hitting the cars around him and ended up clipping the train with the side of his truck. He thinks that's what saved him.
The force of the impact was still so fierce it knocked the hood of his truck into the air.
It was eventually found in the last car ogf the train when it stopped in Effingham.
And as Turner looks at the damage a day later, he can only think of one thing.
"I'm just happy to be here talking to you."
