Driver Killed In Collision With Train In Raleigh

According to an Amtrak representative, one person died of the personal injuries they suffered when an Amtrak train collided with a car on a railroad track in Raleigh on the morning of Tuesday, June 9.

Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero said that the train was en route to New York from Charlotte when it hit the vehicle near Royal and Hillsborough Streets shortly before 11 a.m. She said that after a 90 minute delay, the train was cleared to continue to its destination.

Romero said the fatality was from the car. No one on the train was reported to have been injured. The train had 191 occupants, including 23 students and five adults from Bethesda Christian Academy in Durham.

No further details were immediately made available, but according to Kirk Storman, general manager of nearby The Brickhouse Restaurant, he heard a train whistle sound for what he estimated to be 20-30 seconds before hearing a loud “boom.”

A man traveling nearby at the same time had a similar account, saying he heard the train’s horn and a loud “smack.” He said the car seemed to have been thrown about 50 feet from the train crossing into the woods.

According to Bethesda Christian Academy assistant principal Brenda Brown, the students, some of which had never been on a train before, were on a field trip to Pullen Park in Raleigh for a picnic before returning to school.