An accident involving a train in Northwest Bakersfield Wednesday morning has left one woman dead and a traffic nightmare.
The accident happened about 3:30 a.m. at Santa Fe Way and Hageman Road.
California HigHway Patrol officers said the woman was driving southbound on the train tracks. When the train approached the conductor sounded the horn and tried to break. That's when officers said the woman tried to jump from her car, but got hit by her car and the train.
Officers said her body was thrown about a 100 ft. while her mangled car stayed latched to the front of the train until it stopped. The Highway Patrol said the train was going about 50 miles per hour.
Officers said there are no witnesses to explain why she may have been driving on the tracks.
"It's unsure at this time whether they (she) took a wrong turn and the car got stuck and they (she) couldn't figure out how to get it off the tracks," Sgt. Shaun Crosswhite, CHP, said. "Or if the party was intoxicated or there were other factors that caused them (her) to travel southbound on the tracks."
The accident is affecting traffic in the area. Two intersections are blocked: Santa Fe Way and Reina Road, and Santa Fe Way and Kratzmeyer Road.
Drivers traveling west on Olive Drive towards Kratzmeyer Road are being diverted up to 7th Standard Road.
