One man, who was driving with bottles of alcohol in his vehicle, became trapped when an Amtrak train broadsided a black Ford Escape on Monday in Little Italy, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Investigators said it appears the driver of the SUV got impatient while driving down W. Hawthorne Street and tried to beat the railway crossing arms between Kettner Boulevard and Pacific Highway at 1:45 p.m.

However, traffic was stopped in front of him, so he had no choice but to stay on the railroad. Moments later, an Amtrak passenger train hit the driver's side of the vehicle.

The force of the crash pushed the Ford more than 50 yards down the track.

"I was on the scaffolding. I heard the train hit the horn pretty loud and I looked down," said Andrew Rush. "I see him coming and see a black SUV in the middle of the intersection between the two guard rails, you know. He didn't move, and boom, just hit him and dragged him down the tracks."

Amtrak train collides w/Ford Escape @ Hawthorn & Kettner in Little Italy. Driver cut out of SUV taken to UCSD #NBC7 pic.twitter.com/52x7IfQigB — Omari Fleming (@OmariNBCSD) January 18, 2016

A witness was told by train employees that the train was going about 40 miles per hour.

Rush said in the crash's aftermath, he raced to help.

"He was passed out when we got here," said Rush. "He was sitting up; it smelled like alcohol. Thought he'd been drinking. We saw a 12-pack in the bottom of the floor opened up.

Sheriff's investigators confirmed bottles of alcohol were found inside the SUV.

According to Rush, the train's hitch barely missed the driver's abdomen, and his damaged door pushed him up against the center console so he could not escape.

Emergency crews had to cut off the top of the SUV to reach the man inside. They rescued the patient by 2:27 p.m. and took him to the hospital for unknown injuries.

Whether the man was intoxicated is still under investigation.

Traffic was stopped along Hawthorne, and the northbound COASTER C651 has been canceled. Passengers were advised to take a trolley north.

