The arm of a railroad crossing came down on a school bus in Lodi Monday morning before a freight train began speeding by, in a terrifying incident that was captured on video, according to KTLA sister station KTXL in Sacramento.
From inside his car, Justin Clubb used his cellphone to capture the moments a Lodi Unified School District bus came dangerously close to a fast-moving freight train near the intersection of South Sacramento Street and West Lodi Avenue.
“When the arm started coming down they pulled forward a little bit and then I was like, ‘Oh no, they’re in trouble,’” Clubb told KTXL.
The train narrowly missed the bus, as well as the driver and student inside.
“They should definitely be more alert when it comes to railroad crossings because at the time, they had stopped, looked both ways and then were going to proceed forward. Then they actually reversed and were lucky enough that the train missed them,” Clubb recalled.
The school district, which is currently investigating, said no one inside the bus was injured. Lodi school district officials released a statement to KTXL Monday, which read in part:
We understand and appreciate the concerns that have been voiced regarding this video. Safety remains our foremost priority in the District. We take all safety matters seriously and we want to assure you that this incident is being fully investigated by the District. We can confirm that one student was on the bus during the recording of the video and the student is unharmed.
“It’s really disturbing and I’m just thankful that the child was OK,” said Lodi resident Cindy Luna.
Some parents said the close call should never have happened.
“It makes me feel unsafe for my kid to go to school,” said Shawn Leuenberger.
Clubb said he hopes his video serves as a lesson to other bus drivers so that these dangerous situations do not happen again.
“Let’s hope that it prevents everything and all these kids can go home safe,” he told KTXL.