Cops: Woman leaves SUV on train tracks, arrested
A 28-year-old Ferndale woman was arrested Wednesday night after allegedly driving drunk and leaving her SUV on train tracks, where it was hit by a train, police said.
The crash took place at about 10:30 p.m. near Pleasant, south of Woodward Heights, which is where the woman entered the tracks. When the police caught up to her after her 2011 Jeep Liberty was hit by a freight train from Canadian National Railway — she was not inside the vehicle at the time — the woman admitted she’d come from a party in Birmingham and was confused about where she was, according to police.
Police suspected the woman had been driving while impaired, and put her through a field sobriety test, which they say she was unable to complete. She was arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, taken to the Ferndale Police Department for the night, and bonded out Thursday morning.
The train was able to continue on its route a time later.
Sgt. Baron Brown of the Ferndale Police Department said police believe the woman’s intent hadn’t been to damage anything.
“She tried to make it home, and failed at that,” Brown said.