A Perth man has been taken to hospital after his car veered off the Mitchell Freeway, flipped over a concrete barrier, and came to rest on train tracks near Glendalough station in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Emergency services were called to the scene at around 4.35am after a blue Toyota Camry sedan left the southbound lanes of the freeway and landed on the tracks below. The man, who is understood to be in his 20s, was transported to Royal Perth Hospital with injuries not believed to be serious.
A 'Freakish Event' on the Mitchell Freeway
WA Premier Roger Cook described the incident as deeply alarming, noting that the train tracks are ordinarily shielded by a concrete barrier — making the crash all the more extraordinary.
"The tracks are actually protected by a concrete barrier, so this sounds like a freakish event where a car managed to actually flip and get onto the train tracks," he said.
The Premier said he was relieved the driver had survived the ordeal and that the vehicle had been successfully removed from the tracks. "I hope the individual in this case is not injured too badly as a result of this accident," he added.
Crucially, Cook confirmed there had been no disruption to train services as a result of the incident.
Vehicle Removed, Services Unaffected
Main Roads WA and the Public Transport Authority both attended the scene to oversee the safe recovery of the Camry from the tracks. The vehicle was removed by 6.40am, less than two and a half hours after the crash was first reported.
The incident drew significant attention given the unusual nature of a passenger vehicle breaching the concrete barriers that separate freeway traffic from the rail corridor running alongside it. Authorities have not yet indicated what caused the driver to lose control of the car.
The man's condition is not considered life-threatening, and investigations into the circumstances of the crash are expected to continue. It remains one of the more remarkable road incidents to occur on Perth's freeway network in recent times.
