UK - car driver killed by train after skidding on ice

[John Ashworth]

Driver who skidded on ice at rail crossing is killed by train

Jo Adetunji
The Guardian, Tuesday 6 January 2009

A woman was killed after losing control of her car in icy conditions at a railway level crossing yesterday and skidding into the path of an oncoming train. The middle-aged woman, who has not been named, became penned in by closing barriers as the train approached the crossing in South Drove, Lincolnshire, shortly before 9am.

Witnesses said the woman had lost control of her car and hit a van travelling in the opposite direction before spinning on to the tracks. She had been trying to reverse her grey Rover out of the train's path but was hampered by the treacherous wintry conditions on the road. A spokesman for Lincolnshire police said: "She was approaching the level crossing in very icy conditions. She lost control of the vehicle and veered to the right and clipped the Transit van coming towards her.

"The accident spun her sideways and on to the track where she then became trapped by the barriers."

Police said the driver of the van was able to steer his vehicle away from the rail tracks before the barriers came down. He and his passenger attempted to help the woman but could not reach her before the collision. The woman died at the scene of the accident, police said.

Sergeant Dave Kay, a police officer called to the scene, said: "She was making frantic attempts to get off the level crossing but witnesses said it was very, very quick from when the barriers came down to the collision."

Network Rail said the accident only caused minor damage to the train, the 8.33am from Peterborough to Lincoln, which was carrying 18 passengers. East Midlands Trains said the driver had been left badly shaken but no passengers had been hurt. The passengers were transferred to Lincoln by bus.

There have been three fatal accidents at rail crossings in the last year, which have raised safety concerns. Kelly Mack, 29, died in March after her boot became stuck in tracks at a crossing at Hythe station in Essex, despite attempts to pull her free. In April Theresa Mansell, 66, of Staines, Surrey, was also killed by a train after getting her foot stuck. Robin Watkins, 37, died in Ayrshire, Scotland, after his van was hit by a train in February 2007.

Severe weather warnings were in place across the UK as millions returned to work, with forecasters predicting a freezing week ahead.

In Gloucestershire, 15 schools were closed due to the weather as the end of the Christmas break was marked by a wave of rain, sleet and snow.

Last night temperatures were expected to plunge to -7C (19F) in parts of the UK.