St. Joseph County Police say South Shore Train #507, due to arrive at the South Bend Regional Airport at 8:14 p.m. EDT, hit a SUV. The crash happened near the intersection of Pine and Edison Roads shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday, killing a Ryan Voreis, 22, of South Bend.
The eastbound train was carrying more than 200 passengers at the time of the accident. NewsCenter 16 spoke with two passengers in the front car who complained of minor head and back pain following impact.
Investigators believe the train was traveling around 70 mph when it struck Voreis' Mercury Mountaineer; the legal limit for trains on that part of track is 79 mph. Police say all crossing arms and red light warning signals were working properly at the time of the crash.
Around 9:30 p.m., the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (South Shore Line) reported train #507, was up and running again. It arrived at the South Bend Regional Airport roughly 90 minutes late with moderate damage to the front car.
Investigators hope surveillance cameras mounted on the exterior of the train will help identify the cause of the fatal crash.