July 31, 2007

Driver hits crossing arm

       A southbound train missed a Center Grove woman driving on Smith Valley Road by seconds when she plowed through a flashing railroad-crossing arm.  Terra Burden, 30, wasn't paying attention when she drove through the crossing arm and flashing lights, Johnson County Deputy Sheriff Richard Skaggs said.  Burden, who was driving home, didn't know how she failed to notice the flashing signals on a route she regularly takes, Skaggs said.  She wasn't using a cell phone or otherwise occupied, Skaggs said. Her passenger window was rolled down but her stereo was turned up, so she didn't hear the oncoming train earlier while driving west.  "If she had driven by two or three seconds later, it would have been tragic," Johnson County Sheriff's Office Maj. Randy Werden said. "It shows that a crossing is just a warning devise that can't stop anyone."

         Burden was going 45 mph when she saw the crossing arm and realized it was too late to stop, Skaggs said. She drove her sport utility vehicle through the arm, which broke away as it was designed to.  "All of our crossing arms break away so there's no danger that a motorist will be trapped," Indiana Rail Road Co. spokesman Chris Rund said.  The impact shattered her windshield, and some glass shavings landed on her face.  White River Fire Department paramedics treated her at the scene.  An Indiana Rail Road crew replaced the crossing arm Monday afternoon, Rund said. He estimated the damage at $500 to $750.  Burden was ticketed for disregarding a sign at a railroad crossing, which carries a fine of $114.50, including court costs, Werden said.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)
  

           
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