Unguarded, Dangerous Crossing Claims Life of Mother, Injures Child
Unguarded, Dangerous Crossing Claims Life of Mother, Injures Child
(Goshen, California – June 6, 2011)
A 31-year-old mother was killed and her six-year-old daughter seriously injured when their car was struck by a freight train at an unguarded, dangerous railroad crossing near Visalia, CA. about 7:30 A.M. Monday morning.
In investigating the tragedy, the California Highway Patrol felt it important to emphasize that neither victim was wearing a seat belt, but not that there were only crossbuck signs and neither warning lights or crossing gates at the rural grade crossing that was obscured by nearly 10 foot high thick foliage in the direction of both the train’s approach. The crossing was the Road 60 intersection with the San Joaquin Valley Railroad, a 417-mile-long short line, owned by Jacksonville, FL-based RailAmerica short line.
The train struck the passenger’s side of the Honda, demolishing it. The mother was pronounced dead at the scene, while the six-year-old daughter was flown to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, CA with undisclosed injuries.
