3 injured including 2 children when train strikes vehicle in LaPlace

Published 12:27 pm Monday, March 20, 2017

LAPLACE — Three people were injured, including two children, when a train struck a vehicle in LaPlace Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

The driver of the car, a 26-year-old female, and two passengers, her 6-year-old daughter and 13-year-old sister, were taken to a New Orleans area hospital for treatment, according to the St. John the Baptist Parish’s Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities said they were alerted to the wreck at 2:44 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of Spruce Street and Canadian National Railway in LaPlace.

The crash investigator verified the train’s horn, bell and headlight were operable, a Sheriff’s Office release said, adding a witness said the train horn was blowing prior to the crash.

The railway crossing has RR Crossing signs, police said.

“The investigation revealed that the driver of the car was distracted by using a cell phone, and investigators cited the driver of the car for failure to yield,” the release said. “The current condition of the car’s three occupants is unknown.”