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Residents call for crossing arm at tracks where man escaped before train hit car in Gastonia

By Ken Lemon, wsoctv.com
By Ken Lemon, wsoctv.com

GASTONIA, N.C. — Residents are making a plea for crossing arms at a Gastonia railroad track where a train rammed into a man's car Wednesday night.

There are no crossing arms at the site, however, troopers said the crossing lights were flashing.

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Channel 9's Gaston County bureau reporter, Ken Lemon, learned the train was moving at a slow speed and the man was able to escape before the train hit his car.

However, the force of the collision pushed the car across the street and off of Little Mountain Road.

Neighbors told Lemon they're concerned someone could be critically injured on the tracks. They also said sometimes trains roll through without sounding a horn to alert drivers.

Elisa Whitman, who lives yards away from the tracks, said she heard the collision between the train and the car.

"They didn't sound a horn to let nobody know they were coming or anything,” Whitman said.

Whitman said she heard the train stop but didn't know it hit a car until emergency vehicles arrived.

"I'd hate to see something like that again,” she said.

Channel 9 was at the scene of the crash near busy Highway 321 and didn’t see any crossing arms to block entry to the track.

"They need to put some crossing arms down,” Whitman said.

A representative from Norfolk Southern said they don't decide if a railroad crossing has those bars and that it is up to the Department of Transportation.

"I think it's horrific,” Whitman said. “Somebody's going to end up getting hurt down there."

The representative from Norfolk Southern said they have quiet zones, crossings on private property where the engineer isn't required to sound the horn.

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