mdonovan@heraldsun.com; 419-6655
EFLAND -- The N.C. State Highway Patrol has found the woman driving the car hit by an Amtrak train at 10:24 a.m. Dec. 22 at fault in the accident.
Erin Brett Lindsay-Calkins, 26, of 104 Virginia Lee Lane, Efland, was killed, along with her 5-year-old son, Nicholas Aeron Lindsay-Calkins, when her 2006 Toyota was struck by a northbound Amtrak train at a crossing on Mount Willing Road near Hillsborough.
A third passenger in the Toyota at the time of the crash, Lindsay-Calkins' 4-month-old daughter, Avan Brooke Lindsay-Calkins, survived the crash with minor injuries.
Lindsay-Calkins husband, Mike, was not in the vehicle at the time of the wreck.
The Highway Patrol said in a synopsis of its investigation that Lindsay-Calkins "failed to stop at a duly marked railroad crossing on Mount Willing Road near Hillsborough."
It went on to say troopers determined she drove through the gate while talking on a cell phone, according to witnesses.
Investigators determined that Lindsay-Calkins was traveling east on Forrest Drive and made a right turn onto Mount Willing Road where she traveled under the railroad crossing bar into the path of the oncoming Amtrak train, the Carolinian 80.
They added that post-crash analysis showed that all mechanical electrical devices including the gate at the crossing were operational at the time of the crash.
State Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Jeff Gordon said shortly after the wreck that the two children were in the back seat of the Toyota when the crash occurred, Nicholas in a booster seat, Avan in a child seat.
Nicholas was ejected from the car and killed.
None of the 215 passengers on the train were hurt.
James Shankle Jr., who lives on a hill overlooking the crash site, told The Herald-Sun last week that he witnessed the collision as he headed north on Mount Willing Road.
"I saw an Amtrak train coming from my left to right, like it was coming from Mebane going towards Hillsborough," Shankle said. "The black car turned in front of it and the train just hit the car. That car was coming like it would have been coming towards me, from north to south" headed towards Interstate-85.
"It happened so fast, " Shankle said. "It pushed the car, of course, off the tracks to the right hand side. The train started slowing down. The car came to rest, I don't know, probably 15 feet off the railroad tracks right there."
According to the Highway Patrol report, the Carolinian was being driven by Carlos Williams, whose address was given as 400 West Street, Raleigh -- the address of Amtrak.
The accident report stated that the Carolinian was traveling at an estimated 62 mph before the crash and 55 mph when it hit Lindsay-Calkins' Toyota. The train didn't come to a full stop for 325 feet after the accident. The Toyota was sent 23 feet from the crash scene by the impact, also according to the report.
Staff writer Dan E. Way contributed to this report.
