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Gorakhpur/Patna: A late-night party took a dangerous turn for a youth from Bihar’s Gopalganj district after Google Maps led him to a railway track in Gorakhpur instead of his home. The driver, under the influence of alcohol, narrowly escaped a collision with a speeding goods train after his car got stuck on the track near Domingarh late on Monday night.
According to officials, the man had fed his Gopalpur address into Google Maps around 1am, but the app mistakenly directed him to a location of the same name in Gorakhpur. Trusting the directions, he drove onto a dam road that led him directly onto the railway track.
Despite clear signs of danger, the driver attempted to cross the tracks. The car’s front wheel got lodged in the ballast, and before he could retreat, a tanker goods train from Sahjanwa approached at speed. Fortunately, the loco pilot acted swiftly, applying emergency brakes just in time. The engine lightly struck the front of the car, but a major disaster was averted.
Even after the brush with the train, the driver remained inside the car until the Railway Protection Force (RPF) arrived and pulled him out. He was taken to the RPF post, where he admitted he had been drinking. A medical test confirmed alcohol consumption. The RPF booked the youth, identified as Adarsh Rai, under relevant sections of the Railway Act and presented him before the court on Tuesday. He was granted bail, but the car has been seized.
Train services were briefly disrupted, with the freight train stranded for nearly an hour on the down line. Normal movement resumed around 2am after the car was cleared from the tracks.
RPF in-charge Dashrath Prasad confirmed that the case has been registered and highlighted the dangers of drunken driving and blind reliance on GPS navigation.
