CHESTER, S.C. — In a viral Facebook video, a driver recorded a woman racing across the railroad tracks, barely making it across less than a second before a train passes through.
The driver says the near-miss happened at the railroad tracks near Clack’s corner store along Lancaster Highway in Chester, South Carolina.
In the video, you see the woman ignore the crossing arms that are down and pass right in front of a high-speed moving train.
It’s risky situations like this rail operator Norfolk Southern says people should avoid. They want to spread the word by sharing safety warnings.
“It’s raising concern for us of coming into the community and getting the information out,” a Norfolk Southern representative said.
Train operators say it takes about the length of 18 football fields to safely stop a moving train. When that doesn’t happen, the results can be extremely damaging or sometimes even deadly.
Back in October, an Amtrak train killed two people in Harrisburg after officials say the driver tried to go around the crossing arms.
NBC Charlotte pulled numbers for North and South Carolina and found between the two, there were more than 30 railroad deaths in 2019.
In a statement, Norfolk Southern said the safety of their employees and the communities they serve is the number one priority. They advise motorists and pedestrians to stay alert around railroad tracks and be mindful of warning signs and signals at railroad crossings.