(The following story by Karlayne R. Parker was published in the January 22 issue of the Tampa Tribune.)
PLANT CITY, Fla. — A motorist died Tuesday trying to beat an Amtrak train at a gated railroad crossing on Woodrow Wilson Boulevard, police said.
His name was not released pending his identification and notification of family.
As the train approached the crossing shortly after 8 a.m., the gate went down. A man driving a Toyota sedan went around the gate, and a southbound train hit it, Plant City police Capt. John Borders said.
Amtrak 89, which originated in New York, dragged the car about 300 feet. The car burst into flames, said Eugene Shuler, chief of training for Plant City Fire Rescue.
The collision left the car a mass of metal. The train was delayed for two hours, said Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel. No one on the train was injured.
Borders said the victim might have been late for work. Other accidents have occurred at the crossing, he said. “This is what happens when you are in a hurry,” Borders said.
About the time of the accident, police were staking out a crossing several miles east on Park Road. Officers spotted several cars driving around the crossing gate, including a woman who was ticketed.
“She was upset she got a citation,” Borders said. “But she should have seen this.”
The crossing on Woodrow Wilson is busy, with workers using it to reach an industrial center and parents heading to Tomlin Middle School.
CSX Transportation officials said the last fatal accident at the Woodrow Wilson crossing was in February 1990 when two pedestrians tried to beat the train by walking around the gate.