An extra in a disaster movie about a toxic train derailment was evacuated in Ohio after the exact same thing happened to him in real-life

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An Ohio man who appeared in a Netflix disaster movie about a community fleeing a toxic cloud found himself re-living the plot when a train crashed near his Ohio home.

Ben Ratner told People Magazine that he lives less than a mile from East Palestine, Ohio, near where a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed on February 3 catching fire, and forcing thousands to evacuate the area. 

The 37-year-old said that the situation resembled “White Noise”, a 2022 Netflix movie, where he appeared as an extra, playing a character fleeing a toxic chemical cloud caused when a train crashed and caught fire. 

“Talk about art imitating life,” Ratner told People. “This is such a scary situation. And you can just about drive yourself crazy thinking about how uncanny the similarities are between what’s happening now and in that movie.”

Ratner, his wife and four children fled their home last week after officials issued an evacuation order for the community, which is about 50 miles from Pittsburgh. The day before, a Norfolk Southern train carrying 50 cars of hazardous material had derailed and caught fire, sending huge clouds of black smoke into the air. 

Among the chemicals the train was carrying was vinyl chloride. Emergency workers issued an evacuation order following concerns that the cars could blow up, sending shrapnel across a mile radius. 

Eventually, workers were able to vent the vinyl chloride into a trench and burn it off, avoiding an explosion. Authorities lifted the evacuation order last Wednesday when tests revealed that there were not dangerous levels of contaminants in the air and water. 

“White Noise” stars Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, and is based on a 1985 novel by Don DeLlillo about a couple and their four children fleeing a toxic cloud. It was partly filmed in Ohio, and Ratner said he thought it would be fun for him and his family to take part in the filming.

He told CNN he tried to re-watch the movie a few days ago, but had to turn it off. 

“All of a sudden, it hit too close to home,” he said.