Europe1 .fr , with AFP // ROMAIN PERROCHEAU / AFP 11:37, 06 December 2023

This Wednesday morning, a collision occurred between a car and a train in Lépanges-sur-Vologne, in the Vosges. While the passengers on the TER were not injured, the 73-year-old driver died. According to the initial investigation, the gates at the crossing were closed.

It was a terrible tragedy that occurred in the early hours of the morning in the Vosges. This Wednesday, a 73-year-old motorist, from La Neuveville-devant-Lépanges, died after a collision between her vehicle and a TER, in Lépanges-sur-Vologne. According to the prefecture, none of the 19 passengers were injured. The accident took place at around 7 a.m., on a level crossing on the Epinal-Saint-Dié-des-Vosges line.

A 73-year-old motorist dies in a collision with a TER train in Lépanges-sur-Vologne.https://t.co/nmNBDuSWhC

— VosgesTV (@VosgesTV) December 6, 2023

According to the initial investigation, the car was positioned on the rails while the gates were closed. According to Vosges Matin, she was hit from the right, then thrown to the side, before turning around and landing on a lamppost. Further investigation will need to determine the circumstances that led to the vehicle being parked at this location.

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The 19 passengers of the train "were taken to Saint-Dié-des-Vosges by a bus made available by the SNCF," the prefecture said. None of them were injured despite the violence of the impact. Similarly, rail traffic is interrupted until further notice and replacement buses have been set up between Épinal and Saint-Dié, it added.

The main road where the accident took place has been closed by the police, but traffic is expected to return to normal around noon.