Nearly a year to the day after two Santee residents were killed when their vehicle was struck by a train at an Orangeburg intersection, an Orangeburg man survived a crash Thursday morning at the same site.

John Henry Coleman Jr., 27, of Dusty Drive sustained what police indicate are minor injuries when his 1994 Pontiac was struck by the Norfolk Southern train at the U.S. 301 (Calhoun Drive)-U.S. 601 (Magnolia) intersection just after 10 a.m. Thursday. The lone occupant of his vehicle, Coleman was transported to The Regional Medical Center.

"Evidently, the car pulled up to the tracks and apparently the car pulled up too far," DPS Capt. Mike Adams said. "The train clipped the front of the car, spinning it for about 20 feet over into a ditch."

The spinning Pontiac struck the railroad crossing signal light, nearly dislodging the device. The vehicle came to rest adjacent to the tracks near Performance Auto Sales.

The train engineer told DPS investigators he saw a car on the tracks at the crossing and began to slow the train, whose speeds through the city have been at issue over the past year. The car, in the middle lane and heading north, was stopped with the bumper over the tracks, the engineer said.

"Certainly, anytime we have a train-vs.-car accident, we're very concerned," Adams said. "It doesn't appear that the Norfolk Southern engineer was at fault."

The train, traveling at 40 mph, continued for 500 feet after the crash. It consisted of the engine and nine cars, all undamaged except for a bent hand rail on the engine.

"We're thankful the outcome of the accident wasn't any worse," Adams said. "The impact was significant. It did about $4,000 in damage to the Pontiac.

A year ago on March 7, the same intersection was the site of a train-car crash that killed a 20-year-old Santee man and a 12-year-old, also from Santee.

That accident and others since, coupled with train speeds up from the former 15 mph limit, have resulted in protests by the city to Norfolk Southern. The city has announced an agreement with the S.C. Department of Transportation to install crossing guards at the intersection this summer.

The accident investigation is being lead by PSO II Steve Kuck.

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