Savannah mayor aboard train involved in fatal crash with car near Charleston
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson sat inside a train car on the Amtrak Palmetto train Wednesday evening around 8 p.m., working on his laptop as his fellow passengers snoozed. The train left the Charleston station, headed towards Savannah, making its way towards the Charleston County line at about 80 mph.
About 20 minutes later, Johnson felt a bump in the train car. Then, the smell of burning rubber.
"We passed a train crossing, and kind of surmised that we hit something," Johnson said. "And we found out later that the train hit a car."
"There wasn't panic, you know, because at the time, some people were half-dozing. I was actually on my computer. We knew immediately that something had happened, and something wasn't right."
The Amtrak train collided with a car stopped at a train crossing in Ravenel, just south of Charleston. According to the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, the driver of the car was killed.
Charleston County deputies responded to the scene around 8:20 p.m.. There, they found the driver of a Black SUV, who had been ejected during the collision. The person, as of yet unidentified, was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to a release from CCSO, investigators determined that the SUV had entered the railroad crossing while the crossing arms were activated and was struck by the southbound train on the driver’s side. The train stopped on the tracks for an extended period of time as authorities responded, but no serious damage was reported to the train. The road was reopened after midnight.
Train vs. vehicle crash with serious injury occurred about 8:20 p.m. on Highway 165 near Robinson Street in Ravenel. The road is closed, and motorists should find alternate routes. #chsnews #chstrfc pic.twitter.com/O2TPaYkpc6
— Charleston County Sheriff’s Office (@ChasCoSheriff) February 23, 2023
'Pitch black'
Johnson traveled to Charleston on Wednesday to speak to the Government Finance Officers Association, meeting with Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg.
He went by passenger train, thereby avoiding Interstate 95 and the desolate stretch of U.S. 17 between the interstate and the South Carolina city. Johnson said the train was in a wooded area during the crash, shrouded in night.
"We're looking out, and it's pitch black because we're literally in the woods. And looking down to the back of the train. And that's where you could see the crossing and you could see the lights and all of that," he said.
No one on board the train was hurt, including Johnson. He said the train stopped for a while as representatives from CCSO and CSX checked on the passengers.
After the delay, the Palmetto was back on the route to Savannah. Johnson said he arrived home around 2 a.m.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Mayor Van Johnson aboard train involved in crash Charleston
