This is the heart stopping moment a driver stuck on a level crossing battles to free his car before a train smashes into it.<br /><br />Pitak Tabsuk, 35, was travelling home after harvesting sugar cane and loading it into the back of his pickup truck in Nakhon Pathom, central Thailand on Wednesday (January 23) night.<br /><br />But while crossing the tracks and with the added weight of the crops, the rear left wheel was jammed in a gap. <br /><br />The frantic farmer leapt form his car and phoned for help - with passing drivers ignoring his struggle to free the car.<br /><br />Several cyclists eventually stopped to help but with the warning lights flashing and the barriers coming down, they faced a race against an oncoming train.<br /><br />CCTV footage shows how Pitak thrashed the engine causing clouds of exhaust fumes as locals waved at the train to stop.<br /><br />However, realising the car was doomed, Pitak jumped from the seat and took cover on the roadside. <br /><br />Moments later the burgundy passenger train with hundreds of people onboard comes thundering along and smashes the car in two.<br /><br />The tow truck arrived about 60 seconds later but it was too late.<br /><br />Pitak said: "I always drive over this level crossing but this time the back wheel was stuck in a gap between the tracks and the ground.<br /><br />"I called the tow truck right away and tried to get people to help me push it while waiting for the truck but it was too late. <br /><br />''I'm devastated that my car has been destroyed but I'm also thankful that I'm alive and nobody was hurt.''<br /><br />Police Colonel Sarawut Sutthiwichai said he was relieved that no one was injured. He said that officers will investigate the cause of the incident and make repairs to the crossing.<br /><br />He said: "We examined the footage and found that the truck was fully loaded when it drove onto the crossing.<br /><br />''We need to check whether it had exceeded the legal limit of carrying cargo, but most of all, I am relieved that no one was hurt."
