Woman Drives Around Railroad Crossing Gate as Train Slams Into Her Car, Killing Her and Passenger

Two women were killed when a train slammed into their car as the driver tried to steer around the lowered arms of a railroad crossing barrier, police said.

The impact ripped the vehicle in half, authorities said.

The massive wreck happened last week in North Carolina's Robeson County.

"The gates were down. The gates in front of the track. And she had (driven) around the end of one gate. And was going through the railroad crossing,” Rowland Police Chief Hubert Graham told local reporters.

"We always have people that do go around the gates. And those are people that we usually try to stop, and try to warn them that’s not a safe or smart thing to do," the chief said.

"Because all it takes is just one mistake. There is no vehicle on the road that is going to match that train," Graham said. "The train is always going to win. No if ands or buts." 

The dead were identified as Crystal Locklear and Cassie Strickland.

The Amtrak passenger train was traveling from Savannah to New York. "There are no reported injuries to passengers or crew members," Amtrak said in a statement. The crash is under investigation.

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