November 30, 2015
Two young men from Plymouth are very lucky following a car train crash on Sunday.
At 9:27 Sunday evening Marshall County Police were dispatched to the rail road crossing on Iris Road just south of Lincoln Highway.
20 year old Cody Edge was driving north on Iris Road in a 2013 Ford Focus. As he approached the train tracks, he stopped and looked for traffic. He thought the train’s headlights were a vehicle on the side of Lincoln Highway, so he proceeded onto the tracks.
A passenger in his vehicle, 18 year old Christian Bastardo alerted Edge that the lights were from a train on the track and not a car on the side of the road. Edge panicked and tried to put the car in reverse to get off the tracks but instead put his Ford Focus into neutral.
The train on the Chicago Fort Wayne Eastern line struck the driver’s side front, causing it to be pushed off the tracks off the southeast side of the intersection.
Cody Edge was still sitting in the driver’s seat when County Police Officer Wozniak arrived on the scene. He complained of pain to this abdomen and head and was transported to Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Plymouth for immediate attention. Christian Bastardo complained of pain and was transported to the hospital by family.
The accident remains under investigation and it is unknown if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the accident.
Listeners and readers are reminded that charging information supported by an affidavit of probable cause is merely an allegation that a crime has been committed and that there is only probable cause to believe a crime has been committed. They are presumed innocent throughout the proceedings and are entitled to be represented by counsel and entitled to a trial by jury at which the State is obligated to provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt before a judgment of guilt may be made.