Watch heart-stopping moment driver escapes death after crashing through level crossing

A Polish driver and her four passengers were inches from being killed on Monday night as she drove over a level crossing a moment before a high-speed train shot past. The 48-year-old drove straight through the barriers at the crossing in Koszalin and just made it across the track as the PKP train sped past, causing minor damage to the rear of her Volkswagen.

The woman's passengers immediately got out of the car – which came to a standstill just beyond the track – seemingly shell-shocked and not best pleased with her hazard perception. Other drivers stopped, stunned at what they had witnessed as the train continued racing towards the town centre.

PKP, the Polish state railway, released the footage to warn other drivers about the dangers of level crossings. In a statement, it said: "See the dangers drivers bring on themselves! At the crossing between Skibnem and Koszalin, a driver carrying passengers drove onto the tracks despite having a properly functioning car the closed barriers being closed.

"The car broke the barrier then stopped just beyond the track. There were four people travelling inside – none of them were injured."

Associated Press reported that the woman, a local, was fined 500 zlotys (£108, $140). It is not clear if she deliberately drove through the barrier or was unaware it was down. Koszalin is located seven miles from the Baltic sea in northern Poland.

In March, four people died and dozens were injured after a freight train slammed into a coach carrying 43 pensioners in Biloxi, Mississippi. The coach from Austin, Texas, was travelling to one of the town's casinos when it reportedly got stuck on the track at Main Street in the centre of downtown Biloxi.