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1:22 a.m. • 2-10-12

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Service held for train crash victims as baby released from hospital


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Erin Brett Lindsay-Calkins and Nicholas Lindsay
Erin Brett Lindsay-Calkins and Nicholas Lindsay

A memorial service was held Tuesday for a mother and son who were killed in a train-car collision last week at Southern Drive and Mount Willing Road in Efland.

Investigators said the fatal crash happened after Erin Brett Lindsay-Calkins, 26, drove under the crossing arms. Her Toyota was on the tracks when the train hit, and she and her 5-year-old son, Nicholas Lindsay, were killed.

Meanwhile, Lindsay-Calkins' 4-month-old daughter, Aven Brooke Lindsay-Calkins, has been released from UNC Hospitals, according to hospital spokesman Clinton Colmenares.

The mother, who had been married for just over a year, was on her way to a dentist appointment when the crash happened. She had left two hours early and wasn't in a hurry, according to her husband.

"I don't know how she was in that situation. I know that she pays attention when she drives and she had two babies in the car,” Michael Lindsay-Calkins said Saturday.

Erin Lindsay-Calkins worked at Duke's Center for Aging until she left to go on maternity leave. Nicholas attended Central Elementary School in Hillsborough.

“It's going to be hard, but I'm going to try to give (Aven) the best life I can," Michael Lindsay-Calkins said.

A spokeswoman for Norfolk Southern said the company has fielded 11 calls in the past year from people reporting problems with the crossing. A malfunction was reported in one of the cases in which a defective breaker needed repair, said spokeswoman Robin Chapman.

The other cases dealt with a broken light or gate, typically caused by drivers trying to cross the intersection during or after the warning lights and gate were triggered, according to Chapman.

North Carolina Department of Transportation spokesman Paul Worley said the state was unaware of any problems with the crossing. The last wreck at that crossing was in January 1980, he said.

RELATED TOPICS: Efland, Hillsborough

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this breaks my heart to read all the horrible comments some of you have been posting. i'm erin's first cousin...practically grew up sisters and nicholas called me "aunt". it's heart-breaking to read what you guys will write when you have NO CLUE what happened. i can't believe you guys...

btw, just to break it to you guys who said "leaving 2 hours early for an appt is stupid"...both erin AND nicholas had dentist appts. she had called her dad 15 mins before they were killed asking him if he wouldn't mind watching aven for a few hours while they went to the dentist.

Luna, if that happened, then she was going too fast. And don't they have blinking lights there, too? if so she should have seen those before even seeing the arms.

My thought is that the arms were down and she ran smack into them before realizing what was going on. If the train wasn't there yet, but the arms were already down, it's very possible, especially at this particular intersection.

don't - but how long passed between when the arm came down on your car to when the train showed up? Just curious. I know even a 20-30 second difference doesn't sound like much but it would have been enough time to react and either go forward or backward like you did. Most crossings have at least that much time, that I've seen anyways. I wonder what the train conductor saw - i'd think he could tell if she was trying to go around or if it came down on top of her car, and if it was on top, there would be damage to the top of her car or paint on the arm.

I guess my point it - they did an investigation, and in my opinion, they would have erred on the side of it being the fault of a malfunctioning arm just because of the situation. In other words, they'd want that to be true versus the alternative. We'd all like to think the arm messed up and she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But everything is pointing to something else.

LunaLea...this is so true....I remember when I was in my early 20's I drove right up on the same track turning right and had the arm come down on the top of my car- I was luckily able to back up with it doing damage to the top of my car- but like you pointed out- this is no great visual area- maybe the arms need to be moved back off the tracks in all places- or something heavier? Maybe something good will come out of this to help others.

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