| Two Die When Train, Car Collide at Crossing |
| BLACKSBURG, N.C.
-- A 79-year-old man and a 71-year-old woman died when a train
collided with a car in Cherokee County on Thursday afternoon (May
9), according to television station WYFF News 4 and its website
outlet TheCarolinaChannel.com.
The wreck occurred at a crossing on a private drive off of Moss Crossing and Highway 5 just west of Blacksburg. Troopers said that Jesse Peterson and Miriam Edna Peterson of Gaffney were killed by the impact. Neither was wearing a seat belt, troopers said. Troopers said that at about 2:50 p.m., the Petersons' car pulled out of a car-repair shop next to the Norfolk Southern tracks, into the path of the train and stopped. The 22-car Norfolk Southern train blew its horn and tried to stop before hitting the car and dragging it. The car broke loose, rolled and then came to rest into a wooded area just off the tracks. The northbound train was traveling at 52 mph on tracks rated for 60 mph, troopers told News 4. Nearby residents said that the impact was so stong that it rattled ther homes. There is no signal at the crossing, but Norfolk Southern officials said that signals are not required where a private drive crosses the rails. |