An East Lothian motorcyclist has told how he witnessed the driver of a HGV that crashed onto rail tracks escape by “kicking through the windshield.”
James Murden, 37, from Prestonpans, was travelling towards Wallyford when he heard a loud bang and saw a cloud of dust in the air.
He says that he was approaching the roundabout from Prestonpans and immediately pulled over at the Suzuki garage to call 999 at around 1.30pm on Thursday.
READ MORE: East Lothian line remains closed as Network Rail remove HGV from track
James said he saw what “looked like the front end of the truck in the air” and rushed to the scene after he had alerted the emergency services.
He added that several people had run over to the wall the truck had crashed through before plummeting onto the rails.
He watched as the driver kicked his way through the windscreen in order to escape the crumbled wreckage of his cabin strewn across the track.
The Shell Dreghorn site manager said: “I was approaching the roundabout from Prestonpans, heading for Wallyford.
“I heard a huge bang and saw a cloud of smoke in the direction of Musselburgh.
“It looked like the front end of the truck was in the air but this was just from a glance as I was still driving.
“I pulled up in front of the Suzuki garage and called 999. After eight years working in a petrol station, it is wired into us to respond quickly.
“A few minutes later I ran over to the fence to see if the driver was ok, and saw him kick his way through the windscreen and crawl out.
“There was a crowd of people by the hole in the wall, and a couple of guys climbed down to help him get up.
“I'm just glad he's ok and no one else was hurt.”
Network Rail revealed that the East Coast Mainline from Edinburgh to Berwick-Upon-Tweed would remain closed overnight as they scrambled to remove the lorry and repair the damage caused by the terrifying incident.
But rail bosses updated passengers on Friday morning with the line expected to reopen "imminently" as specialist workers launched a massive salvage operation to move the truck and repair damage.
Network Rail tweeted: "Good progress on repairs overnight, but unfortunately the East Coast Mainline between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed hasn't reopened though it's imminent. Repairs ongoing to the signalling system, following the HGV destroying a lineside cabinet."
In images shared by Edinburgh Live, the cabin of the HGV can be seen lying over a section of the rail tracks.
Another picture appears to show the moment described by James where the driver was helped up the embankment.
Further images shared by Network Rail showed a large yellow crane trying to clear the track.
Emergency services were scrambled to the scene in the aftermath of the crash and the 41-year-old male lorry driver was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for the treatment of non life-threatening injuries.
Police have now launched an investigation to piece together what happened and how the truck came to crash onto the line.
Sergeant Ross Drummond, of Lothian and Scottish Borders Road Policing Unit, said: "Our investigation to establish the full circumstances surrounding this incident are ongoing.
"If you were in the area at the time, please think back and get in touch with us if you have any information which may be able to assist our investigation.
"We are also keen to speak to motorists who may have dash-cam footage of the incident.
"I'd ask anyone with any information to contact Police Scotland via 101 quoting reference number 1714 of Thursday, 23 June, 2022."
We'll bring you more information and updates on this breaking news story as we get it. In the meantime, follow us on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter for the latest news, what's on, trending stories and sport.
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