Driver killed by train in Morrisville

Morrisville, N.C. — A driver was killed by a train Saturday afternoon on Barbee Road in Morrisville, while another vehicle got stuck on railroad tracks in Cary.

Morrisville Police Capt. Charles Wilson said a 2009 Chevrolet SUV was crossing the tracks at about 2:30 p.m. when the vehicle was struck by a Norfolk Southern freight train. The impact pushed the vehicle approximately a half-mile down the tracks.

Driver Lee Stephen Boone, 53, of Raleigh, was killed, Wilson said.

An engineer and conductor on the train were not injured.

Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman said the train crossing has working lights, gates and bells. Morrisville police are continuing to investigate.

The 18-car train was hauling vegetable oil from Raleigh to Linwood.

In Cary, a car also got stuck on railroad tracks Sunday.

Cary police said that a man trying to turn into a business in the 300 block of Harrison Avenue accidentally turned onto the railroad tracks instead. His vehicle got stuck on the tracks.

Train companies were notified and kept trains out the area while the vehicle was towed off the tracks, police said.

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Latest Comments

"This article was much better when it read that the impact pushed the train a half mile down the track - that was the kind of writing we have come to expect on WRAL." -meh2

Even so, it's still typical. The Morrisville accident happened on Sunday, not Saturday, as is reported here.

pirategal03
November 9, 2009 3:53 p.m.

I alwys stop, look and listen at all RR crossings. I don't trust mechanical devices to be 100% operational.

wa4mjf
November 9, 2009 9:54 a.m.

Sad but you can never beat a train!

Arthur in the Garden
November 9, 2009 9:50 a.m.

PLEASE be careful when crossing railroad tracks. I stop before crossing and I think everyone else should, too. It's a good habit to begin. When I was 17, my car was almost hit by a train because the lights were not flashing and the gate never went down. I'm now 26 and have found that the systems are not always reliable! I've noticed two railroad crossings that did not have properly working gates within Raleigh since I've been here. That is not something to play around with. I understand that other drivers get impatient while crossing tracks and want to get across as quickly as possible, but it is not worth your life or someone else's. Several seconds of being patient and looking both ways before crossing is a matter of life or death. My heart goes out to the victim's family. What a tragedy.

andigirl8383
November 9, 2009 9:48 a.m.

I can understand the car stuck in Cary. Simple mistake. I DO NOT understand the train wreck in Morrisville. THAT wasn't a mistake. That was a bad decision.