Exclusive video shows the moments before a car collided with an Amtrak train in Newton, New Hampshire, killing the car’s elderly driver.
Exclusive new video shows the moments before a deadly car crash involving an Amtrak train in New Hampshire.
The video shows a car breaking through railroad crossing gates around 5:50 p.m. Sunday in Newton. Half of the car was on the rails when it collided with an Amtrak Downeaster, killing the elderly man who was driving.
One day after the crash, the driver's side door was on the tracks, as was a hat on top of shattered glass.
Newton police say they have clocked the trains going 70 miles per hour, but it's unclear how fast it was going Sunday.
Investigators say the train stopped shortly after the collision. The engineer first thought he hit a deer, so he kept going until he was ordered to stop in Haverhill.
"We do have people who test the boundaries," Angel Rivera said. "They think they can get through. They think it's just another freighter and there's been a couple incidents where people have been surprised how fast and how quick these trains come by here."
It doesn't appear the driver tried to go around the gates like others could be seen doing after the crash.
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Neighors say this occasionally happens with people who are unwilling to wait.
"If you see the crossing, slow down. Wait. Wait till it's clear and wait till the signal is all the way back up and complete your safe passage," an official said.
The victim's name has not been released, but he reportedly has family that livse in the area.
The incident remains under investigation.
