The train vs. car accident happened at CR 400W and Ind. 67 (U.S. 36) near McCordsville.
MCCORDSVILLE — A Fortville woman was standing near her vehicle, which was stuck on railroad tracks, as a train struck the car early Wednesday morning, officials from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department said.
Jasmina Poluciano, 44, Fortville, was knocked unconscious upon impact, Capt. Robert Harris of the Sheriff’s Department said in a press release. Poluciano was breathing on her own and appeared in stable condition when she was transported by Vernon Township Fire Department ambulance to Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis.
The accident happened shortly before 7:30 a.m. Oct. 12. That’s when county officers were dispatched to the area of CR 400W and Ind. 67 (U.S. 36) near McCordsville for a vehicle struck by a train report.
Officers from McCordsville Police Department, Fortville Police Department, and Hancock County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene to render aid and investigate, Harris said. Officers found the vehicle had been occupied by an adult female driver, Poluciano, and her two high-school-aged children.
The vehicle was traveling southbound on CR 400W toward Ind. 67. However, the vehicle stopped on the railroad tracks because of stopped traffic in front of it.
“The car did not have room to exit the tracks before an east bound train arrived,” Harris said. “Poluciano and the passengers exited the vehicle, abandoning it on the tracks just before impact with the train.”
When the train struck the parked car, the car was pushed off the tracks and struck Poluciano, who was still close to the tracks. The juveniles, ages 16 and 17, who attend Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, were not struck or injured, Harris said.
The intersection of 400 West and Ind. 67 only has room for approximately one passenger vehicle to remain between the railroad tracks and Ind. 67 since railroad tracks in this area run beside Ind. 67, Harris noted. A vehicle was already in that space, waiting to turn onto Ind. 67. The driver of the vehicle, a 2018 Mercedes, apparently pulled onto the tracks, headed toward Ind. 67. The vehicle in front of the crash vehicle could not turn onto Ind. 67 due to heavy traffic.
“When an eastbound train approached the intersection, the crash vehicle did not have time to maneuver off the tracks, leading to the driver and passengers abandoning the car on the tracks,” Harris said.
CSX Railroad dispatched an investigator to the scene to help investigate the incident. The train was stopped for approximately one hour while the scene was documented and cleared. The stopped train blocked intersections in Fortville for an hour. Traffic was also restricted on CR 400W and other intersecting roads.
“At this time, drugs and alcohol are not suspected in this crash,” Harris said.
The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind all drivers not to pull onto railroad tracks until they have enough area to completely cross the tracks. Most trains take over a mile to stop.
“In a train versus car crash, the car always loses,” Harris said.
In addition to officers from the McCordsville, Fortville and the Sheriff’s office responding to the scene, officials from Vernon Township and Buck Creek Township Fire Departments were also on the scene as were officials from the Fishers Police Department.
