Train rams empty car as Neb. driver hides nearby

Associated Press - August 11, 2009 2:55 PM ET

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) - Authorities say a man's empty car was hit by a passing train as he hid from a deputy nearby.

Dodge County Sheriff Steve Hespen says 21-year-old Benjamin Romero of Schuyler was arrested early Tuesday morning on suspicion of drunken driving, reckless driving and for not having a driver's license.

Hespen says 1 of his deputies, acting on a tip from neighboring Colfax County, spotted a suspected drunken driver on U.S. Highway 30 about four miles east of the county line.

The car sped up, but then the driver lost control of it. It went through a ditch along the highway and came to rest on train tracks.

Hespen says the driver got out and hid. Romero was apprehended soon after the train came by and plowed into his car.

Information from: Fremont Tribune, http://www.fremontneb.com