Fatal in Ohio county with high number of RR crossing deaths

HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — Another person has been killed at a railroad crossing in Butler County, a southwest Ohio county that’s recorded a high number of railway crossing deaths or injuries in the last few years.

The woman, whose name wasn’t immediately released, apparently was waiting for a train to pass Wednesday morning, then drove onto the tracks and was hit by a second train heading in the opposite direction, Hamilton police Sgt. Brian Robinson said.

The CSX train used its air horn and whistles but wasn’t able to stop, Robinson said.

“It seems to be a case of being impatient and crossing the intersection before she should have,” Robinson told The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Three weeks ago, a pedestrian was hit by a train about a football field’s length away from the site of Wednesday’s accident.

To get to downtown Hamilton, many motorists use the route that includes the crossing.

According to Federal Railroad Administration data analyzed by media outlets, Butler County has had a high number of casualties involving trains in recent years.

The Hamilton Journal-News reported that the county has seen 20 railroad-related fatalities over the past 10 years for the highest rate of railroad crossing deaths in the   state.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the county last year recorded 17 people injured or killed at a railroad crossing or railway platform, more than any other county in Ohio.

The number includes casualties at designated and undesignated crossings.