A mother and her two children managed to get out of their immobilized car just before it was hit by an Amtrak train Jan. 23.
Their car was clipped by the passenger train shortly after 4 p.m. at the crossing at Alexander Street just north of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Nikia Wynn of Plant City, driver of the four-door 1999 Chevrolet Lumina, said she was northbound on Alexander when a Jeep struck her car from behind and fled the scene.
"I saw that guy behind me; he had to be going at least 40, 45 mph," Wynn said. "Next thing you know, he hit my car," pushing it onto the track, deploying its two airbags and immobilizing the vehicle.
Wynn and her children, Anaiah Jenkins, 7, and Ajshoni Jamison, 10, all safely exited the car before it was hit by the train.
Plant City police Officer Fred Morris said the engineer of the Amtrak train en route to Tampa saw the car on the track and was able to slow to about 15 mph before impact.
"He wasn't able to stop in time, but his speed was so slow it didn't really do any damage to the train," Morris said. The majority of damage to the rear of the Chevrolet was caused by the Jeep, not the train, he said.
Police later located the Jeep and impounded it until they locate the owner and ascertain the identity of the driver.
The accident delayed the train for nearly a half-hour.
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