THEODORE, Ala. (WKRG) — Five people have now been killed by the Amtrak Mardi Gras Train Service since it started running in August.
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The most recent case happened Saturday morning in Theodore as 31-year-old Britney Williams and her eight-year-old daughter, Dakota, were killed Saturday morning in Theodore off Cary Hamilton Road.
Those who worked that crash said the crossings were functioning properly; however, News 5 spoke with a Theodore woman who drives over the tracks daily said the Cary Hamilton and Bellingrath railroad crossings, which sit about 1,000 feet away from each other, were both malfunctioning the morning of the crash.“For the past year, there’s been consistent issues at both crossings,” said Kayley Robinson. “The one on Bellingrath, the arms will typically just stay down once the train passes, and that will happen for hours,” she continued. “The crossing at Cary Hamilton, I’ve seen the arms go up. When there’s not a train coming, then go back down.”
Robinson is not the only one concerned with the crossings along the tracks. Geneva Ellegant is the mother of Tavianna Ellegant, the 24-year-old killed in Pass Christian by the train in September, along with her 31-year-old boyfriend, Chase.
“When I heard about this accident, my heart sank,” said Geneva Ellegant. “I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt,” she continued. “It reopens the wound every time I see somebody who’s lost their life again.”Ellegant described what happened to Tavianna and Chase.
“They came to the intersection, and they were gone,” said Ellegant. “The train hit the dead center of the passenger side of the vehicle, killing my daughter instantly,” she continued. “There were no arms, no guards, just lights. They weren’t trying to race the train. They weren’t trying to beat the train. It was 28 seconds from the time the lights started to the time of impact with my daughter’s accident,” she continued.
Ellegant and Robinson feel that all railroad crossings should be set to the same standard and incorporate some changes.“Some of it is definitely operator error… and others are just a lack of warning,” said Ellegant. “I would honestly like to see earlier warnings, longer guards, (and) guards at all crossings,” she continued.
“Functionality, consistency with that would be a huge improvement. And also maybe just adding more signals,” said Robinson.
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CSX said that Amtrak and regular freight trains set off the same sensor on the tracks. The sensor computes how fast and long the train is, signaling the crossing when to go down and how long to stay active for…