Home > Crime > Four Die After Driver Attempts To Beat Amtrak Train

Four Die After Driver Attempts To Beat Amtrak Train

November 18, 2009 at 8:52 am by Morbid

Hardeeville, SC – A car attempted to get around the gate arms of a S.C. railroad track. Making a fatal miscalculation, the driver was plowed by an Amtrak train en route from Charleston, South Carolina, to Savannah. The car became wedged on to the front of the train and dragged the car for about a mile before stopping. Killed were Jason Scott, 33, Nancy Ratliff, 27, Melissa Thomas, 35, and Taylor Arnsdorf, 12 – no one on the train was injured. There is video of the crash, not yet released to media. People, don’t do this. Especially if you can actually seehear the train. Even if you are by yourself and didn’t kill your passengers because of your stupidity, you still snarl traffic for the rest of us trying to go buy weed in a vehicle low on gas. Thanks.

Four Die After Driver Attempts To Beat Amtrak Train

Tags: Accident, train

30 Comments

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Darsa

Stooooopid!! OMG really, seriously people, Gawd. How completely empty above the neck can we be? TRAIN R BIG, HURT TO GET HIT. OUCHIE. BOOBOO.

Hello????
gee

you still snarl traffic for the rest of us trying to go buy weed in a vehicle low on gas. Thanks.

This cracked me up! I could relate
CassieMomma

This happens a lot, especially in rural areas because some don’t even have gates. I guess people get used to them and don’t even think to look anymore. You’re right though, people never win, it’s not worth it.
VelvetGlove

I just don’t understand why people do this. I mean really, is it worth risking your life over a couple of extra minutes saved? It’s so stupid.

It pisses me off when I am trying to turn left out of my neighborhood across 4 lanes of traffic (no traffic light to help) and some nimrod gets behind me and starts honking. Look, you stupid fuck, I am not going to risk my life and the lives of my 2 children by jumping out in front of some douche flying 65 miles an hour down the road. There’s usually a clear opening within a minute or so, so you can just hold your GD horses. Why is everyone is such a shitfire hurry these days?
Boughtthefarm

I went over a RR track just the other day that had is’s yellow lights flashing….I stopped to look both ways and a couple of impatient assholes behind me started honking; one car went around me almost causing an accident with a car in the opposite direction. What the hell?? I try and curb my road rage but it is hard with idiots out there.
Deety

Why is everyone is such a shitfire hurry these days?

Please see above comments about weed runs and low fuel levels.
MadeaBecBec

Remnants of 2005 Taurus after Train hit it!!

Hardeeville Fire Chief Dan Morgan said the scene was one of the worst he had seen in the 14 years he has worked for the town. Some of the staff and volunteer firefighters who responded knew the victims, he said.

“It’s sensitive,” Morgan said. “We were there within a minute of the accident and the train had pushed the vehicle almost a mile down the tracks. We had some access issues.”

Middleton said Ratliff was driving Arnsdorff to her house for a sleepover with her daughter. Authorities have not yet determined the relationship among other passengers.

Scott was in the passengers seat, while Thomas, a mother of six, was sitting in the rear on the passenger’s side, police said. Arnsdorff was sitting behind Ratliff. All four occupants were wearing seatbelts and had to be extracted from the vehicle…..

Read more at the link: http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/1038889.html

What a tragedy!
misspriss

im my town, we have signs and a camerea at the railroad crossing. if you cross it while the lights are blinking before and after the gates are fully down/up they’ll pop you with a $500 fine and each offence it goes up. Its pretty ridiculous, but a tragedy like this has yet to happen since.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

Jesus Christ. You can see by the damage that the train could not have hit that car more perfectly. I mean, it wasn’t even close. What was the driver thinking?
Zibarro

Nooo shit! Not like the train “clipped” the car – that’s a dead on (no pun intended) T-Bone!

We have signs and billboards around our town *we have more RR tracks than highways, I think* that have a picture of train tracks up the middle. One one side it says “GPA” on the other side of the tracks it says “DOA” Same picture with the word “TRY” on one side and “DIE” on the other. There are various other messages to get the point across too, depending on which sign you see.

We have at least 1 train vs car accident a year here – and the train always wins We still even have a few crossings that have NO arms/lights to warn you – those are scary. Especially when I see someone approach and not stop — or even slow down! WTH? My favorite line for people like that, people going 90 miles an hour on the highway – and people like the driver in this story is – “Must be in a hurry to die”. Too bad she took the other 3 with her.
angela

So this women had somebody elses child in the car while doing this? Stupid bitch
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

When me and a friend of mine were in our teens, we were flying down a road with the radio BLARING. We were in an unfamiliar part of town and there were some tracks up ahead. They had a nice bump to ‘em so I figured we would get some air (because we were teenagers and stupid) so I turned the radio up louder and punched the gas.

We were hollering and being jackasses acting like the Duke brothers in the General Lee until we hit the tracks at about 65mph or so. It was at that point we noticed these tracks had no arms or lights, just a sign and that a train was Right. Fucking. There.

Now I’m not going to exaggerate and say the train clipped us, or the we made it across by mere inches. But I swear to you, it was mere feet. 12 to 20 feet at least. Of course later on we told the story as if we knew the train was coming and we were attempting to beat it because we were badass.

We leave out the part of not seeing it, screaming like girls as we flew over the tracks because what alerted us to the train was the fact that NOW we could hear the whistle over Slayer and that when we got to the other side with our testicles intact, I had to pull over into a grocery store parking lot because my adrenaline had spiked so high I could barely drive.
MadeaBecBec

We used to have a dangerous crossing where I live, seemed the trains were always coming through about the time the manufacturing workers were headed to their job or leaving, in other words snarling all traffic during “rush” hour. Several people were killed there. Nothing was ever done, except talk, until four teenage girls that were headed home from school, had their stereo on full blast, didn’t see the flashing lights (no cross arms) or hear the train whistle, were struck, three died, the one that survived is disabled. The Highway Commission,City government and Arkansas Southern Railroad pulled together and built an overpass!

When I saw that car photo, I had to gasp, it’s squished (my technical term) together totally where the driver and passengers were. Can you just imagine the horrific sound these people heard right before they died? God Bless their souls!
Zibarro

They had a nice bump to ‘em so I figured we would get some air (because we were teenagers and stupid) so I turned the radio up louder and punched the gas.

Another very dangerous practice. My kids lost 4 friends in one night to this… I don’t ever recommend it – tracks or no tracks. My daughter’s best friend was the 13 year old in the car (which is pictured in the story) We saw it up close and personal at the tow yard. Words and pictures cannot describe the actual carnage. And that smell. One of my dear friends was one of the first firemen on the scene – and he said they all cried. There was nothing that could be done… nothing. And it took them less than 1 minute to get to the scene – it was about a football field’s distance away.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/534926/detail.html

Please – don’t try to beat trains and don’t try to “get air” or “bump jump”. All it takes is one miniscule miscalculation – and you’re dead.
truth09

I happen to be a member of the community that this happened in. I knew, or know of, all the people killed and mentioned in the article, Including the officials quoted. It was a tragic decision, yes. Yes, I deeply understand your disbelief. But please be respectful of the victims, their friends, and families in this time of intense grieving. There is no excuse for the decision made, but please don’t call her a stupid b*. you don’t know her, and nobody is certain of the circumstances as of yet. There is a very small, and very tight-knit rural community that has been devestated by this. Please remember that when you post in the future.
thepooh5

Even if you are by yourself and didn’t kill your passengers because of your stupidity, you still snarl traffic for the rest of us trying to go buy weed in a vehicle low on gas. Thanks

Damn, Morbid, have I missed you! I hope to back soon.
thepooh5

Well I’ve been gone so long I can’t even work the quotes correctly – damn, damn and double damn. I’ll catch up on the new tools as soon as I can be a regular again. *goes to kick own ass for stupidity*
donnitia

I know one of the passengers and want to ask everyone to not focus on the driver but the lost their famlies are feeling!
unraveled_bear

I feel horrible for the engineers on that train. Nothing they could have done to prevent this, but I am sure they are in hell right now.
bonnyblue86

OK you people, that was one of my best friends that was driving. She was drunk but forced to get in that car by Jason SCott, who in fact had a gun. One of the little girls that was at Nancy’s house that night saw Jason make Nancy AND Taylor get in the car, even though nancy said she was too drunk to drive and Taylor didn’t want to go. Nancy is a mother of 2 and would never do anything like this on her own free will. So think before you post shit with out knowing anything about what happened.
eracsurfer

She was drunk but forced to get in that car by Jason SCott, who in fact had a gun. One of the little girls that was at Nancy’s house that night saw Jason make Nancy AND Taylor get in the car

I call bullshit on this one.

What child would not tell an adult if they had seen something like that in a “tight knit rural community” as was mentioned earlier.

And if the child DID tell an adult, why weren’t the police notified?

Nancy is a mother of 2 and would never do anything like this on her own free will.

The correct terminology is Nancy WAS a mother of 2. Due to her utter stupidity, her children will now have to grow up without their mother. Which, given said stupidity, may wind up being a blessing.

So think before you post shit with out knowing anything about what happened.

What else is there to know? Did she value her vehicle more than her life? If what you say is true *cough cough* (sorry having a hard time swallowing that), why not just give the keys over to Jason, and let him go on his merry way?

This is also overlooking the whole fact that she was the type of person that associates with people who carry guns while drinking…That one sends the stupidity meter right over the top!

my condolences go out to the 12 year old that was in the vehicle and the children that were left to grieve, may the adults from the vehicle burn in hell.

Oh, and to those of you defending Nancy, please be so kind as to FUCK OFF!
eracsurfer

I would also like to add I also offer my condolences to the engineers on the train. I am sure they will have to suffer through many nightmares and doubts, but there was nothing that they could have done.
bonnie

I would like to tell you about your response to my comment, that the child was forced in the car too. Nancy and my friends were there well i guess they really aren't friends because they didn't do anything, they knew jason MADE her get in the car, they said she was crying and so was the little girl. Neither one of them wanted to get in the car. He MADE them get in the car using a gun, why our “friends” didn't do anything i don't know, i know if i would have been there i would have stopped it, what was he gonna do shoot everyone in the whold apartment complex? Nancy was drunk no doubt, she didn't want to go. If he made her get in the car with a gun you don't think he could have made her cross the tracks with the gun too? You are wrong for calling bullshit because the little girl was crying at the funeral and told me that, she thought it was her fault, but if you own mother is there and didn't do anything about it and you are 8 years old you aren't going to call the cops. Believe what you want to believe, and thanks for correcting me about nancy WAS their mother, just rub it in a little more. Her children are going to miss her lots, and in fact she will ALWAYS BE their mom. Aden will never forget nancy, they were real close. As far as allison, she will never really remember nancy and that is a shame. Nancy was the best, she was young and made the wrong decision to hang out with that guy. She had never drove drunk before then, and I belive what kayla told me. She was shook up, I honestly don't think nancy would have done that on her own free will. Go to hell you inconsiderate POS
meme

fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! everytime i hear about this it makes me mad my mama was in that car ik you not supposed to talk about dead people but that bitch got my mama killed
V Xiii

sorry meme
karebu72

TROLL ALERT
Bonnyblue86

troll? wtf
Bonnyblue86

so wish they made a virtual middle finger…
Bonnyblue86

blame jason you fucking idiot, he was the one with the gun that caused the whole situation. if it wasn't for him and his gun, nancy would have never gotten in the car.
Bonnyblue86

neither would your mom.