JEMISON, Ala. (WIAT) — After a CSX train collided with a vehicle Monday night, killing one woman and injuring her four passengers, neighbors in Jemison are asking for safer train crossings.
The train crossing on Guy Street, where the collision happened, doesn’t have a stop arm or lights to warn drivers that a train is coming.
“There’s no arms, there’s no protection, there’s no warning,” said Jemison resident Emily Smith.
She lives just behind the Guy Street crossing. After witnessing the deadly incident, Smith told CBS 42 more needs to be done to increase safety.
“When I look up and I see cops swarming and I see a car flipped with innocent children in it, that’s nothing I ever want to see again,” Smith explained.
She’s not alone in asking for increased safety.
“Every entrance over the railroad tracks should have some kind of crossing bars or something,” said Jemison resident Ryan Thompson.
He also lives behind the train crossing, and works at Barry’s Furniture, right across the street from where the deadly collision happened.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I’ve lived here most of my life and I’ve been driving over those tracks for years.”
CBS 42 reached out to the Jemison Police Department and the Mayor’s office for further comment and were denied an on-camera interview.
We also contacted CSX, the company operating the train involved in the accident, and did not hear back before deadline.
Stay with CBS 42 as this is a developing story.