A man in his 30s was killed Friday morning when an eastbound freight train collided with the car he was driving near the border of Anaheim and Placentia, police said.
"The vehicle was struck and the train came to rest at the next main intersection, which was Jefferson," Det. Corinne Loomis said.
Witnesses reported seeing the driver of the vehicle, which was driving in the same direction as the train, make a right turn into the train's path, said Anaheim police Sgt. Bob Dunn.
He was driving a Toyota Corolla, Dunn said, which crossed under the gates meant to alert traffic of an oncoming train.
After the car was removed from the tracks, the train, which started in Los Angeles, continued on its way to Chicago.
The cause of the collision is not yet known, and police are investigating all possibilities - including the chance that the driver tried to beat the train across the tracks, Dunn told NBC4 News.
The crash happened on the train tracks parallel to Orangethorpe Avenue at the Tustin Avenue intersection about 8 a.m.
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As the collision was right on the border, Placentia police have turned jurisdiction over to Anaheim police.
Street closures were in effect in the area on Miller Street, Tustin Avenue and Jefferson Street until about 11:00 a.m., said Loomis.
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