Two young girls who were inside their Toyota Prius when it was struck by a train in downtown Orlando on Tuesday night survived the crash without serious injury, police said. You can read the rest of the story here. Train car crash Orlando: Police: Girls, 7 and 9, survive Orlando train crash mostly unscathed - OrlandoSentinel.com
From what the story said they were the only ones in the car. I posted this because I think it also goes to show the car is a pretty safe car to be in regardless of what many people say about small cars.
Why did the driver get out of the car with the girls still inside instead of flooring it to get the heck out of the way?
I know there're always details that a news story can't convey, it just seems so bizarre. I wonder what was in front of him (besides the other wooden guardrail). It's just that if you were in mortal danger on the tracks, the gas engine in drive would be superior to be electric motor in reverse. Not meaning for this to be one of those "if I were there I could've easily gotten out of it" things, but the whole premise of the story baffles me. He had time to stop the car, put in reverse, try to reverse, put it in park, unbuckle, open the door, and try to open the back door, but couldn't just drive off the tracks? In any case, amazing that everyone is alright, that is a good thing.
From experience, it appears the train hit the car at low speed (~5-7mph). The lack of damage has less to do with the design or construction of the vehicle and more to do with the speed the train was travelling. The lead locomotive by itself weighs roughly 390,000lbs; enough to pulverize any vehicle on the road had it been going faster.
GC, this is a survival story (thank God!). I am really impressed how the Prius held up to this train impact. Glad there were no objects that impeded a very light car from being pushed down the tracks or it would have been a very different outcome.
