Train collision victims speak out

HOPE MILLS Owens says she went around a barricade at the train tracks on Moore Street and got stuck on the tracks.

"And the tire got stuck into the track and then all of a sudden the train was coming and I told everybody to get out," she said.

Owens says someone moved one of the barricades so cars could go around them. She says she saw the road closed sign, but she went around anyway.

"First thing that came to me, try to move the truck," she said. "When that didn't work, I just got my Niece out and then I come back to make sure there was nobody else in the truck and that's when the train hit."

Authorities say the train was traveling about 30 miles an hour when it hit the vehicle.

Click here to read more background about the crash

The impact sent three family members flying through the air and pushed the SUV more than 100 yards down the tracks.

Owens' brother, Brandon, suffered a back injury and his niece, Kiera, has a fractured skull. But Owen's has the most severe injuries out of all the victims.

"I have broken ribs, a fractured bone up under my right eye (and) a gash on my eyebrow, my right eyebrow," she said. "I have a lot of gashes on my arms and back."

Owens says she and her family are alive and for that she's thankful, but she says she made a mistake she doesn't want anyone else to make.

"I would never put my kids in jeopardy, but it was a bad judgment call on my behalf and I thought I could get across," she said.

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