SOUTH ROYALTON—On Saturday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. a car driven by Allyssa Ashline, 27, of Randolph, Vt., got stuck on the tracks of an ungated railroad crossing on North Windsor Street in South Royalton, directly in the path of a northbound AMTRAK passenger train.
The road surface was icy and the vehicle was unable to make it across the tracks before it was struck by the train. The train was traveling at 59 mph when it struck the car, police report. The force of the collision tore the front of the vehicle completely off and sent the remainder of the car with Ashline and passenger Derek Noble, 32, also of Royalton, spinning around before coming to rest about 20 feet down the track. Both occupants of the car, Ashline and Noble, were uninjured. Both were wearing seatbelts. The train was not damaged and none of the 71 passengers was injured.
The train was able to continue on after a brief delay.
State police want to remind drivers of the dangers at ungated railroad crossings. Drivers should stop, listen, and look in both directions before proceeding.
