Driver uninjured after driving into train in Belleville

Joel Baker, 20, of Ypsilanti apparently was uninjured after driving into a Norfolk & Southern train in Belleville shortly after 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 4.
Baker said he got off work at Gentle Machine on Martinsville Road at 4 p.m. and was driving home to Ypsilanti when he looked down to the dashboard to adjust the radio. When he looked up he was colliding with a train, he said.
The train dragged Baker’s car a short way down the track before it could stop. The crash site was on Savage Road next to the city’s DPW yard. Savage and South streets were closed at the tracks for some time, so there was quite a traffic jam in the city of Belleville during rush hour.
Van Buren Township Police deployed to the corner of Martinsville and Savage roads directed traffic away from the blocked crossing during rush hour. Great Lakes Towing sent one truck that couldn’t remove the car and then sent another that could.