This is the shocking moment a motorcyclist gets mowed down by a speeding train after he crashes through the lowered barrier and falls onto the rail tracks.
A nearby surveillance camera filmed the moment the rider, surnamed Wan, rushed head-on into the railroad crossing in Kaiyuan, in China’s south-western Yunnan Province, despite the obvious warnings that a train was approaching at 3am on 12th May.
Wan collided with the barrier and got thrown off his seat by the powerful impact.
He landed directly on the tracks while his bike was flung forward and skidded along the road.
It was only thanks to the train driver’s alertness that Wan survived, as they immediately hit the brakes.
Although trains often take a long time to stop, the train in this clip only travelled a few metres before the driver brought it to a stop.
The train struck Wan and pushed him along the tracks for several feet as it could not come to an immediate halt.
He was left with several injuries, which were reported to be non-life-threatening.
The China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd. later said that the police investigated the case and found Wan to be fully responsible.
The Kaiyuan City Public Security Bureau Traffic Police Brigade reported: “On May 12, 2024, Mr Wan (male, holding a C1D driver’s license) was riding an ordinary two-wheeled motorcycle eastward along Xiangyun Road in Kaiyuan City.
“At 3:01 am, he collided with the railroad crossing barrier on Xiangyun Road, resulting in his injury and damage to both the motorcycle and the barrier.
“It was initially determined that Mr Wan was fully responsible for the accident.”
The incident gained attention on social media, with online commentators like the user ‘Present Real Too Fake’ saying: “This train has such good brakes that it can stop instantly.”
And user ‘Ni’ said: “Generally, you will slow down when passing through this kind of road section.”
Others wondered if the motorcyclist should be made to bear all responsibility or if he is entitled to some kind of compensation from the railway company.
Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, clarified that according to Chinese laws if a railway traffic accident or other railway operation accident causes personal injury or death, the railway transport enterprise should bear the liability for compensation.
However, if the injury or death is caused by force majeure or due to the victim’s own reasons, the railway transport enterprise does not bear the liability for compensation.
