Cop witnesses car-train crash

A 20-year-old woman was in the hospital after a train hit her car Tuesday afternoon, pushing the car about a quarter-mile before it flipped off the tracks.

Brandy Anglin, of Hayden, was driving west on Hayden Avenue south of Rathdrum about 3:20 p.m. and apparently failed to stop at the crossing. Kootenai County sheriff’s Deputy Gavin Brodwater was parked next to the intersection as part of a new patrol emphasis on railroad crossings when the white Oldsmobile pulled in front of a BNSF Railway train.

The train hit the Oldsmobile at 40 to 50 mph, according to a Kootenai County sheriff’s news release, crushing the car’s roof and trapping Anglin inside.

Brodwater gave aid to Anglin until more emergency crews arrived. They had to cut Anglin from the car before taking her by ambulance to Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene. Her husband showed up on scene and rode with her to the hospital, witnesses said.

Anglin was in fair condition late Tuesday, “conscious but uncomfortable,” a nursing supervisor said.

For the railroad crossing emphasis, officers will ride trains Thursday from Stateline to Sandpoint, watching for drivers who don’t follow traffic laws at train crossings, according to the Idaho State Police. Other officers, stationed nearby, will pull over and ticket drivers spotted breaking the law.

The Officer on a Train program aims to increase awareness of the dangers at train crossings, according to the ISP.

There were 21 train-car collisions in 2006 in Idaho, according to the ISP, and three people were killed. Two people have been killed at rail crossings in Kootenai County in recent months.

Spirit Lake City Councilman Steve Gaddum was killed in April when a train struck his 1996 Land Rover at a crossing at Meyer Road. Gary L. Gibson, of Post Falls, was killed at a Hayden Avenue train crossing last month.