OIL CITY, La. – A train sounding its whistle crushed a car that had driven onto railroad tracks at a street crossing, killing a teenager, her infant daughter and an adult.
A little boy survived and was expected to recover.
The car was crushed Friday evening by the first of two engines hauling 124 empty freight cars over the crossing.
"The train had begun signaling about a quarter-mile down the track. When the train approached, the driver accelerated over the tracks and was hit broadside," said Cindy Chadwick (search), spokeswoman for the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office (search).
The crossing has no lights or crossing arms. But David Blaine (search), who works across the street, said the train blew its whistle several times. Blaine said he heard the crash and shattering glass an instant after the whistle sounded.
"I turned and all I saw was a little red car flying through the air," he said.
The victims were identified as driver Brandi Jarrells, 19; her 6-month-old daughter, Selena Brown; and Michael Harris, 23, a friend of Jarrell's.
Eighteen-month-old Trajan Brown was listed in fair condition Saturday at a Shreveport hospital. "We believe he'll be fine," Chadwick said.
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