Local woman dies in train crash

<p>A Greenwood woman died when a train struck her car late Tuesday night in New Whiteland.</p><p>Shauna Brooklynn Synesael, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office news release.</p><p>Just before 11 p.m. Tuesday, Synesael was traveling east on Tracy Road between U.S. 31 and Emerson Avenue where she crossed into the path of a northbound train, the report said. She was driving a small Nissan Versa.</p><p>The railroad crossing has stop signs for both eastbound and westbound traffic.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>The train came to a stop about 1,500 feet north of Tracy Road, according to the report.</p><p>Both Tracy Road and Main Street were closed for several hours due to the train blocking traffic both ways, the report said. They were reopened Wednesday morning.</p><p>The sheriff’s office, Whiteland Police Department, New Whiteland Police Department, Whiteland Fire Department and Wayne Township Fire Department responded to the crash. CSX supervisors were also on scene, the report said.</p><p>Railroad crossings have been a long-standing issue in Johnson County.</p><p>Communities along the rail lines have sought money to pay for expensive safety features at the crossings, which railroad companies don’t have to pay for. Several accidents — some deadly — have occurred on the tracks in Johnson and Bartholomew Counties.</p><p>Just five months ago, two people were killed and a third seriously injured when a train and a sport-utility vehicle collided at a railroad crossing south of Edinburgh, along the same rail line.</p><p>In 2017, railroad companies upgraded tracks throughout the state to allow for more trains, more weight on a freight and higher speeds. But they have not upgraded safety features at railroad crossings. Those changes fall on the cities themselves. The Louisville and Indiana Railroad line runs north and south through the heart of downtown Greenwood, Whiteland, Franklin and Edinburgh.</p>