(March 27, 2026 -- Stone County, Mississippi)
A family was left in shambles after a motorist-train collision with a Canadian Pacific Kansas City freight train left five dead and one injured. The tragic accident occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Friday, March 27, on Pump Branch Road, northwest of Wiggins, MS.
The fatalities of the crash were driver Ryan Peterson, 26; front passenger and Peterson’s fiancée, Kristina Carver, 45; Carver’s daughters, Emley Chamblee, 22, and Sarabeth Chamblee, 20; and Demarcus Perkins, 23. Carver’s third daughter, Ariel Chamblee, 23, was taken to a hospital in New Orleans and was in a stable condition, albeit with plans for surgery, as of the day after the accident. The victims were reportedly driving westbound on Pump Branch Rd., east of U.S. 49, in a Chrysler Town & Country minivan when they were struck by the CPKC train.
According to CPKC’s records submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration, the Pump Branch crossing where the collision took place is public and paved. It sees an average of 5 day and night trains, which travel at speeds of up to 49 miles per hour. Inventory records indicate that the crossing is equipped with stop signs and crossbucks but lacks pavement markings, advance warning signage, and any form of active warning devices like lights and gates. Additionally, Mitchell St. intersects with Pump Branch Rd. just prior to the approach to the crossing. The absence of advance and active warnings, in combination with the distraction created by the interrupting roadway and its drivers, presents a particularly dangerous crossing for motorists.
The Pump Branch crossing had seen three prior accidents. The most recent one, from April 2023, bore a strong resemblance to the subject crash, involving a van and resulting in one death and three injuries.
Ryan’s mother, Shelly Peterson, spoke about the collision and her son’s death, saying, “I don’t know what happened that day…I think if those flashing lights had been there and those bars had been there, what happened to them- they would still be here today.”
The tragedy remains under investigation.