The driver of an HGV that crashed onto the train tracks in East Lothian escaped by "kicking through the windshield".
Motorcyclist James Murden, from Prestonpans, was travelling towards Wallyford yesterday afternoon (June 23) when he heard a loud crash and saw a cloud of dust in the air.
The 37-year-old immediately pulled over at the Suzuki garage near the roundabout at Prestonpans to call 999 at around 1:30pm.
The eyewitness rushed to the scene after alerting the emergency service, seeing what he believed was the front end of the truck in the air.
Several other people had also run over to the wall where the HGV had crashed through and onto the rails.
James told Edinburgh Live that he seen the driver kick his way through the windscreen in order to escape the crumbled wreckage of his cabin that was strewn across the track.
The Shell Dreghorn site manager explained the ordeal, he 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 as they scrambled to remove the lorry and repair the damage caused by the terrifying incident on Thursday night.
They advised morning commuters to stay up to date with developments as they unfolded, especially if they were travelling in the early morning.
The latest update from ScotRail said there would be no services between Edinburgh to North Berwick until 12pm on Friday.
London North Eastern Railway have said there will be no services at between Newcastle and Edinburgh due to the accident on Friday.
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.
They released a statement following the incident where a spokesperson said: "We are working closely with the emergency services following an incident involving a heavy goods vehicle coming through the railway boundary and on to the track near to Wallyford roundabout in Musselburgh.
"Specialist engineers are on-site to recover the vehicle and assess the railway infrastructure for damage.
"All services on the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed have been suspended for the rest of the day."
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