Late-Night Caltrain Clips Car Stuck in Tracks

An allegedly intoxicated woman drove her car into the Caltrain's tracks Thursday night and caused the tracks to close for three or four hours—but not before her car got clipped by a passing train.

According to the , an off-duty police officer noticed a car stuck between two railroad tracks about 100 yards west of Mountain View's Castro Street around 1:11 a.m. Friday.

The officer called Caltrain's communications and asked for any inbound trains to be stopped; however, within a couple of minutes, a Caltrain passenger train had clipped the front of the woman's car. Prior to the train's arrival, the police officer was able to move the driver, who was already out of the vehicle, off the tracks and to safety.

Police spokeswoman Liz Wylie said the driver had allegedly been drinking downtown and had accidently turned onto the tracks from Castro Street looking for the freeway. She was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, with a reported blood-alcohol level of .20.

The tracks remained closed for three or four hours.