SIDNEY — Western Ohio authorities say a man apparently got his car stuck on railroad tracks and was on the phone seeking help from a 911 dispatcher when a train hit the vehicle and killed him.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Tim Bender told the Dayton Daily News the dispatcher was urging the 77-year-old man from northern Shelby County to exit his car when the collision occurred Thursday night. It happened after dark in Orange Township, about 35 miles north of Dayton.

Bender said investigators believe the driver was on the tracks for no more than two minutes before the crash.

He said it didn’t appear the train’s engineer could have stopped in time to avoid the collision.

Investigators didn’t immediately identify the car driver or his hometown.