Medical issue led to man driving car on tracks

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - A man drove his car down railroad tracks in Fort Wayne late Wednesday night before finally stopping on the old elevated train station downtown. Railroad workers removed the vehicle from the tracks around 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

According to Fort Wayne police, the man entered the tracks at Anthony Boulevard and Berry Street after getting turned around because of a water main break on East Wayne Street. Police said the man might have become confused and ended up on the railroad tracks when turning around.

Police said the man told them when he realized he was on the tracks he began looking for a way off, but then looked in his mirror and saw a light that he thought was an oncoming train. He continued down the tracks for over a mile before he parked the car on the elevated train station platform downtown, near the old Citilink bus stop.

The driver moved the car off the tracks and parked it on the platform before exiting the vehicle.

Police said the man called Norfolk Southern and alerted them to what was happening.

Fort Wayne police officers then helped the man down from the tracks near Harrison Street and Superior Street.

Police said they did not issue the man any citations, calling it an "honest mistake." They said he could be subject to citations or even be arrested by Norfolk Southern police for trespassing. He could even be held financially responsible for the cost of removing the car and the backlog of trains sitting outside Fort Wayne waiting to pass through.

Sean, the brother of the driver, said Thursday afternoon part of the reason the incident happened was because of a medical issue.

"He had a problem with MS.  He's been dealing with the issue for the last two years now.  It causes a variety of problems from numbness to vision problems.  He just made a mistake and turned down the wrong way on the road," Sean told NewsChannel 15. 

Sean added his brother was at a local hospital for evaluation after the incident.

A spokesperson for Norfolk Southern said the company could not comment on the incident as it was running its own investigation into what took place.

Sean said he was thankful the Norfolk Southern was willing to hand the vehicle over to him, and that the situation did not end up being any worse than it was.