Two injured after car drives past safety barriers and is hit by train, police say
Two people were taken to a hospital after the car they were in was hit by a train Tuesday in Independence, according to police.
The crash occurred about 2:21 p.m. on the tracks near 15th Street and Sterling Avenue. Witnesses told police the driver of a white car stopped briefly when the safety barriers came down over the crossing for a train to pass, according to Maj. Ed Turner of the Independence Police Department.
But the car drove past the barriers as if the driver was trying to “outrun the train,” Turner said.
Three people were inside the car when it was struck by the train, said Officer Matt McLaughlin, a police spokesman.
The car slid and hit another vehicle that was nearby.
No one in the train was injured, police said.
Turner said he did not know the medical condition of the two people injured in the crash.
Police asked members of the public to avoid the area. The road was expected to be closed until about 4 p.m.
Turner asked drivers to abide by the safety barriers at train crossings.
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 3:18 PM.
