ROCKVILLE, Md. -- A pregnant woman was hospitalized after her car was struck by a MARC train in Rockville Friday evening.
Apparently, 25-year-old Cemile Valencia tried to get out of the crossing, even bumping a car ahead of her, but she was unable to before the train struck her and pushed her car into a crossing gate, which went through the car from the back to the front and narrowly missed her head by inches, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer. A side airbag may have saved her life.
Valencia was taken to a trauma center with serious injuries, but both she and her baby are OK, Piringer said.
No injuries were reported on the Bunswick Line train, which was carrying more than 500 passengers, who were offloaded and put on two other trains to take them to their destinations. MARC trains heading northbound out of Washington experienced major delays because of the crash.
