A father and son escaped their stuck car Wednesday before it was slammed by a train at the Kitseguecla Lake Road crossing west of Smithers.
No one was injured in the crash.
The father told Smithers RCMP that when he tried to drive over the crossing, his car's front wheels got lodged in one of the deep ice grooves that had formed along the rail tracks.
When he saw an eastbound CN freight train coming at them, the father managed to get himself and his young son out of the car and to a safe distance.
In the train, the CN crew had enough time to start making an emergency stop, but they could only slow the train down, not stop it, before it collided with the abandoned car.
CN and Ministry of Transportation officials are investigating the incident.
They have agreed to clear away the ice buildup at the Kitseguecla Lake Road crossing, and to check other rural railway crossings in the area for any other ice hazards.