Woman Dies When Freight Train Hits Pickup In Central Valley

MADERA, Calif. (AP) — The California Highway Patrol says a woman died when her pickup was struck by a freight train in the Central Valley after she went around a railway gate.

The collision east of Madera occurred Friday afternoon. CHP Sgt. Darren Long tells the Fresno Bee (http://bit.ly/2fr7OuL) the woman encountered a freight train stopped in front of her at a railway crossing with the arm down and drove besides the tracks to an area where the train was no longer an obstacle. The gate, however, was down, and Long says the woman drove around it and was hit by a second oncoming freight train.

No one else was in the pickup, and no other injuries were reported. Long said alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the collision.

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Information from: The Fresno Bee, http://www.fresnobee.com