A young boy died and three other people were injured after the boy's father drove into the path of a train early Thursday near Sweet Home, according to reports.
Emergency responders drove to the Harper Road railroad crossing at Arkansas 365 in Sweet Home shortly after 8:10 a.m. after receiving a report of the crash.
When they arrived, they found a stopped train and, several hundred yards down from the crossing, a Chrysler 300 crumbled against the lead engine, according to sheriff's office officials.
The car, driven by Corey May, 38, of Sweet Home, was driving west through the crossing when it was struck by the locomotive on the driver side and pushed down the tracks.
May's 9-year-old son, Floyd, who was riding in the right side of the backseat, was pronounced dead at the scene.
May's 14-year-old son, who was riding in the front passenger seat, was waiting inside the train when deputies arrived, and he was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment for unspecified minor injuries, officials said.
Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Carl Minden said the teenager and the dead child were easy to pull from the vehicle, but search-and-rescue crews had to cut open the car to extract May and May's 11-year-old daughter who was riding behind him.
After that, crews had to use backboards as a "slide" to help move May, who is listed as being 5-foot-8 and weighing 400 pounds, onto a gurney, according to sheriff's office reports.
A cadre of deputies, paramedics and firefighters then had to carry May about half a mile over rocks and rails to get him to an ambulance, Minden said.
May's daughter suffered a severe leg injury and was airlifted to a nearby hospital, Minden said.
Sheriff's officials did not give the names of the two injured siblings.
None of the train employees were injured in the crash.
The crossing at Harper Road does not have a crossing gate but does have lights and bells, both of which were reportedly activated when the train moved through.
When asked if it appeared that May was trying to "beat" the train across the tracks, Minden said the crash remained under investigation.
The speed of the train and of May's vehicle at the time of impact were not known Thursday, but Minden said he had been given unconfirmed reports that May was taking the kids to a summer day camp.
No charges have been filed, Minden said.
Metro on 07/04/2014