A family were left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing this week when a speeding freight train collided with their moving van.
And when we say collided with it, we actually mean obliterated it.
The shocking scenes took place on Tuesday when the Mercado family’s hired truck became wedged on railway tracks on the way to their new home.
Eli Mercado revved the lorry and tried as hard as he could to get off of the line in Norcross, Georgia.
But his efforts were anything but successful
Speaking to WSB-TV, Mercado said he was following his sat-nav and didn’t realise that trucks were not permitted in the area – at least he didn’t until it was too late.
He claims that he ignored his wife and police officers who were screaming at him to get out of the lorry.
But just four seconds before impact, he leaped out, and watched as all of the family’s belongings rained down either side of the track.
He said: ‘As soon as I jumped out of the truck, maybe four seconds later, the impact with the trailer, with the train.
‘The only thing I could do was ball up and cry like a little baby, you know, because that’s the way I pay my bills.
‘That’s the way I take care of my kids, my family”.
