KEY POINTS:
Rail company Toll has slammed the behaviour of three young men in a 4WD vehicle hit by a train south of Timaru yesterday as sheer stupidity.
The 4WD was crushed by the south-bound train south of Timaru at about 1am after the occupants attempted unsuccessfully to push it off the tracks.
Toll spokeswoman Sue Foley said the vehicle became stuck while trying to cross the line in an area that was not a public crossing.
"There was nothing the (train) driver could do. From our point of view we would just describe those actions as sheer stupidity," she told The Timaru Herald.
Ms Foley said although the vehicle's occupants had got out, the train driver may not have been sure of that and it would have been a helpless and frightening experience.
"You're driving something that you can't stop -- you just know that there's nothing you can do but wait for the impact.
"We're always really pleased when no one's injured -- it so easily could have been a tragedy."
Toll policy meant the train driver was immediately stood down from duty and a replacement driver was found.
The train was damaged by the impact but continued to Dunedin about an hour later.
Police are investigating.
- NZPA
