By VICKIE JAMBON – Staff Reporter

RESERVE – A man, whose car was struck by a train, was booked into the St. John Correctional Facility after a records’ check revealed warrants for his arrest.

Corporal Elton Foret with the St. John the Baptist Sheriff’s Office arrested 46-year old Gerald P. Duhe who resides at 119 West 17th St. for two counts of issuing worthless checks and for being a fugitive from St. James Parish.

Foret said, the Tuesday incident took place at 12:05 a.m. on West 19th St. when Duhe ignored a stop sign before trying to go through a railroad crossing. He said a Canadian National train was backing up at two miles per hour when it rammed the passenger side of Duhe’s Chevrolet S10 Blazer.

The train’s engineer, Willie Dupard, said the train was “shoving cars” back and that this was the reason for the locomotive operating in reverse.Vincent Palermo, the train’s conductor, was riding on the last tank car as he watched it approach Duhe’s Blazer. Palermo quickly radioed the engineer in an effort to stop the train.

Although Dupard put the train in “emergency application,” he could not stop the locomotive in time. No one was injured in the accident.