Car Waits For 1 Train, Pulls In Front Of 2nd

A mother and child were killed at a Pocatello railroad crossing Thursday when she waited while one train passed, then pulled her car into the path of a second train coming from the opposite direction.

Police said the car was struck broadside and the mother and one child died. Another boy survived. Trevor Bybee, 10, was listed in serious but stable condition at Bannock Regional Medical Center.

Bannock County Coroner Jim Allen said the victims were Julie Ann Bybee, 42, and her son, Tyler, 9. She was the wife of Pocatello dentist Dr. Larry Bybee.

The accident occurred about 11:30 a.m. at a railroad crossing at the east end of the Union Pacific Railroad yard in Pocatello. The crossing is known as the Cheyenne Avenue crossing and has flashing red lights but no barrier.

Lloyd Martin, who was a few cars back waiting at the crossing, said, “It’s just a signal. That’s the worst crossing in the county. They should put an overpass over that.

“Oh, God, it was terrible. It smashed it terribly,” he said.

Witnesses said the car was struck broadside and carried about 60 feet along the tracks. A man with a cellular phone reported the crash.

Another eyewitness, Brigham Hopkins, who lives nearby, was eating when he looked out the window and saw the car hit by the train. “She did a 360-degree turn,” he said.

The car was nearly folded in half and came to a stop just a few feet from the Portneuf River. The crossing was closed temporarily.

The train’s crew was devastated by the collision, said Chris Arvas, Operation Lifesaver Coordinator for Union Pacific.

“There are other victims besides those in the car,” Arvas said, referring to the crew. “This is very, very sad.”