(The following story by Kat Bergeron appeared on the Sun Herald website on August 17, 2009.)
GULFPORT, Miss. — A 19-year-old driver who ignored warning bells and lowered railroad crossing arms got stuck between the arms, then was struck and killed Saturday night by a train. The accident at the intersection of Mississippi 611 and U.S. 90 in Pascagoula occurred about 9:30 p.m.
Dustin Lewis of Pascagoula apparently first stopped at the crossing. He saw an eastbound train that was stopped not far from the intersection, then headed between the lowered arms.
Lewis was killed by a westbound CSX train that pushed his car into the stationary train.
“That was a tragic situation because this driver likely never saw the westbound train,” said Cpl. Johnny Poulos of Mississippi Highway Patrol, which is investigating.
“Motorists need to understand that when the crossing guards are down, they are down for a reason. You need to get in the practice of looking both left and right whenever you cross a railroad track. Do not try to beat the arms coming down and do not drive around them. This is a perfect case of what can happen. This is why we lose so many people to train crashes. They are in a hurry and don’t want to wait.”
Poulos said eyewitness accounts from the engineers and videotapes from the CSX trains will help MHP reconstruct the story. Jackson County Coroner Vicki Broadus said Lewis died at the scene from blunt-force injuries.