Four dead after vehicle crashes into parked CSX train in Florence

FLORENCE — Four people were killed Sept. 10 when a vehicle drove past a barrier and hit a parked CSX train in Florence.

The vehicle struck the parked train at approximately 10:45 a.m. Sept. 10, while the train was stopped along the tracks at the North Dargen Street crossing in Florence, according to officials.

The vehicle appeared to be speeding and going around the crossing arms, which were down when it slammed into the train, the Associated Press reported.

The people killed in the crash were Mitchell Carter II, 34; Jeneka Carter, 40; and Antoine Hines, 46, all of Florence; and Ruby Taylor, 27, of Hartsville, according to the Associated Press.

A fifth person in the vehicle survived the crash, but authorities did not release any additional information.

CSX said the train crew was not injured.

“At CSX, safety is our highest priority in the communities we serve,” CSX said in a statement. “We remind the public that any activity on or near a rail line can be dangerous.”

The Florence County Police Department is investigating the incident.

In 2021, railroad deaths totaled 893, a 20 percent increase from the 2020 revised total of 744 and the highest since 2007, according to the National Safety Council.

From 2020 to 2021, fatalities at highway-rail crossings increased 21 percent, while fatalities involving other types of incidents increased 20 percent. The latter included 617 deaths (94 percent) attributed to trespassers.

Eleven employees were killed while on duty, equal to the 2020 death toll. There were six train passenger deaths, up from two deaths in 2020.

The ratio of railroad-related deaths to nonfatal injuries and illnesses is about 1 in 6, according to the National Safety Council website, injuryfacts.nsc.org.

Twenty-six percent of the 893 deaths in 2021 occurred at rail-crossings.

 Follow Nicole Ziege on Twitter @NicoleZiege.