An Orange Park woman was killed when she was ejected from her car while racing through a rail crossing to beat an oncoming train Monday afternoon, authorities said.
Eryn Spillers, 34, of Orange Park, was driving a Nissan Murano west on Shenandoah Drive about 4:40 p.m. when she approached the rail crossing at Doctors Lake Drive, according to a Florida Highway Patrol crash report.
At some point, Spillers drove around the active crossing arms and lights and her Nissan was struck by the train, the report said. The vehicle was forced off the tracks and into a signal control box, troopers said.
"It's a safety feature that's there for a reason," Sgt. Dylan Bryan told First Coast News.
FHP: Woman killed after train hits car in Orange Park
WTLV
The train, which was bound for New York out of Miami, stopped immediately after impact, troopers said. A source aboard the train told First Coast News it was slowing down as it struck the car.
There was just one "minor" injury reported among those aboard the train, according to Clay County Emergency Management. According to FHP, there were 262 passengers and 13 crew members on board.
Ellen Clark lives just feet from the intersection. Clark was involved in a train crash of her own 30 years ago -- just blocks from Shenandoah.
"You see the headlights coming down the tracks," she said. "It's a helpless feeling because you know there's nothing on God's green earth that you can do about it."
Clark says people try and "beat the train" very frequently at that intersection.
"It's frustrating... the train is going to win every time. You shouldn't race a train, you're going to lose," she said.
Stupid is, stupid does. She will not do that again, though.
Learn and live folks.