DNA tests to identify train crash victim

Forensic DNA tests will have to be conducted to positively identify a woman killed in a horrific double fatality between a train and car about 130km north of Adelaide.

The woman and a man died when the Ford utility they were in failed to give way to a south-bound freight train about 3.30pm yesterday, on the Clare to Lochiel road.

The ute was split in two and the half the woman was in was wrapped around the front of the locomotive and pushed about one kilometer further down the track, until the driver could pull up his 1.8km longtrain.

The male driver, from Bowhill in the Murraylands was thrown about 15m from the vehicle, both people were killed on impact.

Anthony Houston, who lives next to the railway line, was outside his house when he saw the car just before the impact and heard the train sounding it’s horn.

“I saw the car coming down the road, and I thought to myself he is not going to stop.”

“Then I heard the train horn and then I thought he is definately not going to stop, I didn’t think he could stop if he tried, then I heard the bang.”

Mr Houston said when the train went past him he saw “the the rear end of the car just sliding past, it was imbedded on the front of the train.

He said he ran inside and called 000 and then went down to check on the train driver, but “there was nothing anyone could do for them in the car”.

Mr Houston said the train driver told him he was doing about 100km/h “and I reckon the car was doing about the same.”

AdelaideNow