17-year-old Nebraska girl survives car collision with train

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities in south-central Nebraska say a teenage girl survived a collision with a train so violent that her car’s engine was ejected.

The crash happened Wednesday at a rural railroad crossing west of Kearney, the Kearney Hub reported.

Buffalo County Sheriff’s officials said Sydney Conner, 17, was traveling north on a county road around 7:45 a.m. when her car collided with a westbound Union Pacific train. Sheriff’s Sgt. Ramey Ristine said investigators believe Connor was blinded by the rising sun as she approached the crossing and didn’t see the train.

There are no crossing arms at that railroad intersection, but it is marked with stop signs.

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This story was first published on Sept. 24, 2021. It was updated on Sept. 24, 2021, to correct that the teenage driver survived the crash.