COIMBATORE: A speeding tempo to Ganapathy carrying baked items in bulk to meet a delivery schedule in a hurry, crashed into a partially closed railway gate here and bend it in the bargain.
The damaged portion of the gate fell on the railway track, triggering panic among motorists passing by, police said. The gatekeeper immediately informed the nearby railway station about the incident.
Luckily, the Palakkad-Erode passenger train, which was yet to reach the gate, was stopped in time at the nearby signal.
Shopkeepers in the area also near-simultaneously rushed to help the tempo driver to reverse the vehicle, and with the help of few motorists cleared the gate from the track.
Racecourse police rushed the spot and regulated the traffic. Thanks to the gatekeeper and the shopkeepers' presence of mind in acting quickly, a possibly big accident was averted. Railway police has lodged a complaint against the tempo driver. Vehicular traffic in the area was held up for more than an hour due to the accident.
