Leaving a perfectly functional car on train tracks should be grounds for strong punishment even if nobody was in the car (as it endangers the crew of the train

Leaving a perfectly functional car on train tracks should be grounds for strong punishment even if nobody was in the car (as it endangers the crew of the train and at the very least causes significant property damage). I frankly can't imagine why anyone in their right mind would do that, let alone with a suspect in the car - are US police departments intentionally selecting for stupidity?