Jul 7, 2008 10:18 pm US/Central
3 Dead After Freight Train Slams Into Car In Gary
GARY, Ind. (CBS) ―
Three people are dead after a train slammed into a car in Gary late Monday afternoon, police said.
It happened at the freight train crossing at Lake Street and Miller Avenue in the city's Miller area. Witnesses told CBS 2 the driver was trying to head south across the tracks despite crossing gates that were lowered at the time.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports the Gary Police say there is no question the gates were down at the crossing and the lights were flashing when the driver of the car apparently tried to beat the train.
But that leaves a lot of the victims' family members asking why they would even take the chance.
"They would never do nothing like that," said victim Marvin Alvarez's mother, Rosa Alvarez. "I teach my kids better than that. Never would try to beat no train. I always taught him that. And I know he wasn't the driver."
Marvin Alvarez, 20, was in a car with two women when witnesses say they went around a railroad gate and, seconds later, a train hit them.
The obviously distraught family quickly turned hostile, one suddenly hurling a rock at a CBS 2 cameraman. Earlier another family member was Tasered by police.
Throughout the evening the victims' friends and family members continued to arrive at the Gary railroad crossing to find out what happened.
The impact was so great it knocked the car some 173 feet to the southeast of the intersection.
The cousin of another victim, identified as Nicole Thomas, 21, says she doesn't know what her family, or Nicole's 3-year-old son, will do now.
"She was a good person," Tracy Grimes said. "She just… she's gonna be missed. This is the hardest thing the family's going to have to deal with."
The third victim was identified as Rosie Godines, 21, whom Grimes said was a close friend of her cousin's.
People who live in the area say there have been problems at that railroad crossing in the past, especially by people ignoring the warnings of an approaching train.
Police say none of the crash victims were wearing seatbelts.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov and Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones contributed to this report.
(CBS 2 and the Post-Tribune are news partners covering stories in the communities of northwest Indiana. Send story tips to tips@cbs2chicago.com. (© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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