ANDOVER — A woman was pulled out of her car after it was hit by a freight train at the railroad crossing at Pearson Street Thursday.
An Andover police officer responded to the scene around 11:30 a.m. and was able to talk with the woman entrapped in the white Lexus, police reported.
Police Lt. Frank Fitzpatrick said police and firefighters were able to respond within minutes due to the proximity of the crash to the public safety center. The officer was able to begin rendering aid immediately.
Fire Chief Kyle Murphy said first responders found a heavily damaged vehicle when they arrived to the crash. It is unknown which direction the driver was coming from, but the vehicle ended up by the bollards closer to Depot House of Pizza.
Firefighters were able to pull the woman out of the car. She was then transported to the Doherty Middle School where a Medflight was waiting on its athletic field to fly her to a Boston-area hospital for treatment.
Fitzpatrick applauded the quick action of Andover Fire Rescue to quickly extract the woman.
“The way the men and women worked to extricate the person from the vehicle was incredible,” Murphy said the 20 minutes it took first responders despite the condition of vehicle.
Andover police and fire were on scene as well as the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the transit police’s crime scene services. The car was removed from the area at 2:28 p.m.
Murphy said responders were also about to address a fuel leak caused by the damage to one of the train’s fuel tanks due to the collision.
Streets leading to the crash remain closed until further notice due to an ongoing investigation. Andover police said on social media that the train involved needed to be towed due to equipment damage and the railroad company needed to call in extra equipment to do this. Police asked the community to avoid Essex, School and Railroad streets.
The commuter rail line was still able to pass through the crossing on the the other track.
The crash is under investigation by the MBTA.