A motorist narrowly averted disaster early this morning in a failed attempt to cross railroad tracks that were under repair, police said.

The driver was running late for work and disregarded three “road closed” signs before reaching the tracks at Paschall Road, police said. Because the road had been cut for maintenance, the car fell off the roadway.

“The driver called for a wrecker but a train arrived first and a collision occurred,” according to the police department’s Facebook page.

The train received minimal damage, but the driver was issued a citation.

Police noted that the driver said he did not know of another route to work, but that wasn’t a good enough excuse for some Facebook users who thought attempting to cross the tracks was a less-than-brilliant decision.

“My 10-year-old said, ‘As we all know … the train always wins,’” said Lisa Weckwarth Echols.