Train hits car; 1 dead
By John Joyce
Published in News on June 4, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
The wreckage of a fatal collision of a Jeep and a CSX train is strewn across the ground near the intersection of Center Street and Talton Road in Mount Olive.
A CSX train collided with a vehicle at the intersection of Talton Road and North Center Street in Mount Olive Wednesday afternoon, resulting in the death of the driver of the car.
A preliminary investigation has determined the driver -- Antonio DeMarco Davis, 27, of Mount Olive -- died in an apparent suicide.
The collision took place at 3:05 p.m.
Mount Olive police chief Tommy Brown said city employees witnessed the entire incident.
"Several witnesses said Davis was driving east on Talton Road. The cross arms at the railroad crossing came down and the lights were flashing. He weaved his way around the first cross arm and stopped on the tracks," Brown said.
Witnesses employed by the town water department told Brown what happened next.
"He got out of the vehicle, he faced the train and raised his hands to about shoulder level and he sort of shrugged at the last moment," Brown said.
The impact of the train spun the vehicle, a Jeep Liberty, full circle and sent it tumbling over. The train came to a halt 21 train car lengths past the point of impact. The Jeep came to rest upright, facing east, the driver's side doors ripped off.
The Mount Olive Police and fire departments responded, as did Wayne County EMS and officials from CSX.
Throngs of onlookers were kept back several hundred yards from the scene by firefighters, and the train itself blocked any view of the wreckage from the north side of the tracks. Only the first responders and the witnesses saw the aftermath of the collision up close.
One of the witnesses got out of his car immediately after the crash and went to try to assist the victim.
"He got out of his vehicle, he said the Jeep rolled several times and finally stopped. It was still smoking. He started to look for the victim but at that time law enforcement was arriving on scene so he got out of the way and allowed them to take over the search," Brown said.
Capt. Linda Tyson located the victim's wallet and identification. Brown notified the family.
Brown said the Mount Olive Police Department would conduct its own investigation, as would the train company.
"The CSX police are here. They are going to take their time and do what they need to do," he said.
An ambulance was dispatched from Wayne NET (Non-Emergency Transport) to transport Davis' body to Wayne Memorial Hospital so the county medical examiner could conduct the autopsy.
Mount Olive resident Vicky Brinkley and her 15-year-old daughter, Nikki, a student at Southern Wayne High School also witnessed the incident.
Mrs. Brinkley's first-hand account confirmed what Brown had been told by other witnesses.
"He did get out of his vehicle and throw his hands up in the air," she said.