Woman hurt in train-car crash

A Vandalia woman sustained severe injuries last Thursday afternoon when the vehicle she was driving was struck by a train. According to Vandalia Police reports, Elberta J. Ewbank, 82, 722 W. Jefferson St., was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Impala north on Fifth Street at the Main Street intersection shortly after 1 p.m. when she failed to see an approaching train heading west. The train pushed the car west and north, with the vehicle knocking over a crossing gate pole and coming to rest next to the train. The engineer of the train, Corrina K. Thon, told police that the vehicle drove around the crossing guard. Ewbank was extricated by the Vandalia Volunteer Fire Department, and taken by the Fayette County Hospital Ambulance Service to Fayette County Hospital. No further information on her injuries or condition was available. Ewbank was ticketed for disobeying a signal indicating an approaching train and operation of an uninsured motor vehicle.