Stuck car blocks freight train, creates midtown Sacramento morning gridlock

A car that got stuck on railroad tracks in Sacramento on Tuesday morning halted a freight train and led to backups across the city’s core during the morning commute.

BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent said the vehicle got stuck on the tracks and blocked them beginning around 6:30 a.m.

Traffic was backed up in midtown and Curtis Park when a freight train was blocked by a car that was stuck on the crossing at P Street between 19th and 20th streets, according Matthew Paulsen, who was one of several people who helped get the car off the tracks after hearing the train horns from his office and seeing the train stop.

He said the driver was “attempting to pull into the parking lot and missed the driveway getting stuck on a rail.”

Paulsen said the driver “started to refuse to comply with attempting to clear the tracks.” He said that several folks helped the driver straighten out the car and back the car off the rails.

“It was broken down, blocking traffic,” said Sgt. Laura Peck of the Sacramento Police Department.

By 8:30 a.m., the train started moving and cleared the area a few minutes later.

Traffic was backed up for several hours along 16th, 19th and 21st streets in midtown, as well as Freeport Boulevard nearly to Sacramento City College. The blockage also backed up traffic on westbound Highway 50 and the connector from Highway 99.

This story was originally published March 12, 2019 at 8:45 AM.