Train hits car, kills driver

NORGE, Va. ( WAVY) - Emergency crews responded to an accident involving a train and a passenger vehicle Saturday.

Seventy-eight-year-old Doris Antczak was driving a Ford Escort when she was struck and killed at a private crossing in James City County.  She was the only one in the car. 

"It was a smooth ride until we felt a thump," said train passenger Tara Wesley.

"Everybody's heads went forward into the back of seats and all you seen was black smoke after that," added passenger De'Anthony Ward.

"I seen a car jump across the tracks and then get smashed by the train," another passenger said.

The Amtrak ride from Richmond to Newport News came to a screeching halt; a terrifying experience for the train's 150 passengers.

"All I did was begin to pray for the individual," Jennifer Pew added.

"I was shocked, because it [train] was a little rocking," Wesley added. "I just didn't think it was that serious."

The passengers soon learned it was very serious. James City County Police said the train collided with a car at a crossing in Norge just before noon.

"The front of the car was wrapped around the train," Ward said.

Rescue crews said the train was travelling about 75 miles an hour when it began to break almost a mile from impact. Police said the elderly woman behind the wheel never had a chance.

"The train was moving pretty fast," Cloyd said. "The weight of the train, the time and the speed, it was definitely not a good sight to see."

Antczak, a Williamsburg resident, died at the scene. The crossing in the Hunt Farm area doesn't have flashing lights or a security arm to warn drivers of an on coming train, but it is marked by signs.

"It was pretty awful," Wesley said.

Investigators say it was the second train collision within the past three weeks at the crossing. Because it is a private crossing, flashing warning lights and extending rail crossing arms are not required. It does have stop signs.

The train was traveling around 77 miles per hour, within its legal speed limit. It dragged the woman's car for a quarter-mile, and was too damaged to reach its Newport News destination. Passengers were bussed the rest of the way. Two were taken to a hospital for heat exhaustion.