WINTERPORT, Maine — A woman was taken to the hospital by ambulance Tuesday after her vehicle was struck by a train at a railroad crossing on Meadow Road in Winterport.
The accident, which involved a Hyundai Elantra and a Central Maine and Quebec Railway train, was reported to police dispatchers at about 2:30 p.m., and happened at a crossing that is not marked with lights or a barricade.
The driver’s name was not immediately available, but witness Jennifer Bricker of Hermon said the driver appeared to be in her mid-30s and seemed shaken but not seriously injured after the collision. She was transported to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor after the accident.
“She was coming across the tracks and I heard the train whistle,” Bricker said. “It just ran into the back end of her car and spun her around. There was a car seat in the back of her car. It could’ve been a lot worse.”
Meadow Road, a dirt country road that was paved a few years ago, has a speed limit at the crossing of 45 miles per hour. Dana Edwards, who lives on Meadow Road, said he would like to see more done to decrease speed and increase visibility and safety at the railroad crossing. The resident thinks that both cars and trains travel too fast through the intersection.
“My whole question — is that crossing being properly maintained by the railroad? I just think it should be lighted,” he said. “I know you can’t light every crossing in the state. But I think it should be lighted with one of those guards that come down, or better signed or something. I just think someone needs to look at it, and make sure they’re doing everything they can to prevent something from happening.”
Chad Mowery, the general manager for the railway, was at the crossing and removed a piece of the Hyundai Elantra from where it was attached to the locomotive hauling the 11-car train. He said that the train has a black box to record information, similar to those in airplanes, and that the railway planned to do its own investigation.
“We’re just giving thanks [her] injuries appear minor,” he said.
Deputy Ben Seekins of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office, who is investigating the crash, said it is the first time in 25 years of local policing that he has responded to an accident at the crossing. He said the Elantra was traveling across the railroad tracks and the train struck the rear of the car.
“Anybody approaching a railroad [crossing should] slow down and make sure the trains aren’t coming before you cross the tracks,” Seekins said, adding that he is glad the accident had a fortunate outcome.