Two of my high school classmate died on their way to school. Story was his brakes failed as they approached a railroad crossing and a southbound train hit their car.
Tragic.
I don't believe that story. Odds are he tried to beat the train and lost. Folks were just looking to transfer blame from the deceased.
On the first day of school in my hometown of Kearny, NJ in September of ‘65 three high school kids ducked under a railroad gate that was down. There was a train stopped at the station and these kids went around it but didn’t hear or see the train coming in the other direction and were killed. It was just horrible.