Russian Railways and emergency officials were left red-faced after video footage surfaced that implicated railroad workers of wrongdoing in a crash between a car and a commuter train in the Moscow region earlier this week.
An emergency official had blamed driver Almaz Berezkin, 27, of failing to heed warning signals of an oncoming train at a crossing in the New Moscow suburb of Shcherbinka at about 6:45 a.m. Monday.
The train plowed into his Chevrolet car and dragged it about 200 meters, causing the rail link to be closed for more than an hour. Berezkin has been hospitalized in Podolsk and remains in a coma.
But a video surfaced Tuesday that shows the barriers that normally block cars from crossing the tracks were not working, and the rail company acknowledged Wednesday that railroad workers had disabled the equipment.
Emergency officials have issued an apology, saying the official who had blamed the driver would be disciplined. The rail company has offered to provide compensation to the driver.
