Early Wednesday, an elderly woman was killed in a fatal accident in South Royalton. All that is left at the scene are tire marks in the snow, debris and spilled car fluids.First responders from the Royalton Police and Fire Department were called out to the railroad tracks on Acton Place at 3:15 am.Police identified the driver of the car as 92-year-old Rhea Laroche of Westminster, Mass. The 92-year-old was pronounced dead on the scene. It’s unclear why she was in the area at that time.“It looked like maybe she thought the road was the tracks, drove onto the tracks, got stuck,” said Loretta Stalnaker, Royalton police chief. “I mean, we’ll never know. Maybe tried to back up, not got stuck. She didn’t have any lights on when the train came through and they didn’t see her until the last second.”The freight train that hit the vehicle had 74 cars, all but two were full, making it very difficult for the train to stop suddenly. Both the tracks and the train were undamaged in the collision, according to officials.This accident raised safety concerns around railroad crossings in the town.“I think in Royalton, the railroad safety could be stepped up a little bit,” said Belinda Auerhan, a South Royalton resident. “We don’t have lights, and we also don’t have any indicating signs, saying active railroad, especially that it does come through town at least three times a day.”Community members hosted a safety meeting in October of 2022 to address concerns.It came almost a year after 23-year-old Thomas Fennell, a Vermont Law School student, was killed in a collision with an Amtrak train at the Stern Road rail crossing in town.That was not the only recent collision; authorities say multiple vehicles have been hit in other incidents – but no one was hurt.The New England Central Railroad runs freight through 228 miles of rail in Vermont – they have agreed to some upgrades in safety systems in the town.“I think we always can improve safety,” Stalnaker said. “Are we going to always be able to do 100%? No. But I know that the railroad’s trying. They’ve already put arms and lights in at the Royalton Hill crossing. I know they plan to do other crossings.”Tom Ciuba, a representative for the railroad company, is aware of the incident- and shared this statement with NBC5:“I can confirm that the incident, indeed, occurred around 3 a.m. in South Royalton on New England Central Railroad (NECR) when a train struck a stationary vehicle on our tracks with a passenger inside.Our thoughts are with her loved ones during this difficult time.”The case is still an active and an investigation is ongoing.
Early Wednesday, an elderly woman was killed in a fatal accident in South Royalton. All that is left at the scene are tire marks in the snow, debris and spilled car fluids.
First responders from the Royalton Police and Fire Department were called out to the railroad tracks on Acton Place at 3:15 am.
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Police identified the driver of the car as 92-year-old Rhea Laroche of Westminster, Mass. The 92-year-old was pronounced dead on the scene. It’s unclear why she was in the area at that time.
“It looked like maybe she thought the road was the tracks, drove onto the tracks, got stuck,” said Loretta Stalnaker, Royalton police chief. “I mean, we’ll never know. Maybe tried to back up, not got stuck. She didn’t have any lights on when the train came through and they didn’t see her until the last second.”
The freight train that hit the vehicle had 74 cars, all but two were full, making it very difficult for the train to stop suddenly. Both the tracks and the train were undamaged in the collision, according to officials.
This accident raised safety concerns around railroad crossings in the town.
“I think in Royalton, the railroad safety could be stepped up a little bit,” said Belinda Auerhan, a South Royalton resident. “We don’t have lights, and we also don’t have any indicating signs, saying active railroad, especially that it does come through town at least three times a day.”
Community members hosted a safety meeting in October of 2022 to address concerns.
It came almost a year after 23-year-old Thomas Fennell, a Vermont Law School student, was killed in a collision with an Amtrak train at the Stern Road rail crossing in town.
That was not the only recent collision; authorities say multiple vehicles have been hit in other incidents – but no one was hurt.
The New England Central Railroad runs freight through 228 miles of rail in Vermont – they have agreed to some upgrades in safety systems in the town.
“I think we always can improve safety,” Stalnaker said. “Are we going to always be able to do 100%? No. But I know that the railroad’s trying. They’ve already put arms and lights in at the Royalton Hill crossing. I know they plan to do other crossings.”
Tom Ciuba, a representative for the railroad company, is aware of the incident- and shared this statement with NBC5:
“I can confirm that the incident, indeed, occurred around 3 a.m. in South Royalton on New England Central Railroad (NECR) when a train struck a stationary vehicle on our tracks with a passenger inside.
Our thoughts are with her loved ones during this difficult time.”
The case is still an active and an investigation is ongoing.
