MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Officials in Elk River say the driver of the car involved in Tuesday’s collision with two Northstar Commuter Rail trains was cited for not stopping at the railroad crossing signal.
The collision happened around 5:15 p.m. after the young woman driver drove around the lowered crossing arms on Jackson Avenue, attempting to do a U-turn in the intersection, Elk River police said.
While it was in the intersection, a train en route to Minneapolis clipped with the car, sending it spinning in the intersection. The car came to rest on train tracks, in the way of an approaching northbound train.
Before the second train hit the car, the driver and two other passengers manage to escape the car. When the northbound train struck the car, it damaged the vehicle beyond repair.
Neither the driver or her passengers were injured, police said.
The damage to the trains was being evaluated Wednesday, and they were returned to an operations and maintenance facility in Big Lake.
