LITHONIA, Ga. — A tractor-trailer hauling pickup trucks was demolished early Friday morning after being struck by a train at the Turner Hill Road railroad crossing near Covington Highway in DeKalb County.

According to 11Alive and People, the crash happened around 4:58 a.m. on November 14 when the semi became stuck on the tracks just north of I-20. CSX officials confirmed that one of their trains struck the stranded truck, splitting it in two and scattering debris across the roadway.

^{Photo credit: 11Alive News}

The driver, identified as Toree Davis, said he narrowly escaped before impact. “Once I realized it had got stuck, I was saying, ‘Lord, don’t let a train come,’ and that’s when I saw the lights start flashing,” Davis told reporters. “My life flashed before my eyes… thank God I made it out. You can get another truck, but you only get one life.”

Davis, a veteran trucker with over two decades of experience, said he was attempting to return to I-20 when his truck bottomed out on the crossing. No injuries were reported, and some of the pickup trucks he was hauling appeared undamaged.

The crash left the cab of the semi on its side, damaging a utility box and power pole near the tracks. Power remained on in the area, but Turner Hill Road was closed for several hours while crews cleared the wreckage and inspected the railway.

Drivers were advised to use Lithonia Industrial Boulevard, Evans Mill Road, or I-20 as alternate routes. CSX said the incident remains under investigation.

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