Couple killed in train-car wreck

PRINCETON -- A Johnston County infant remains in critical condition this afternoon at WakeMed following the death of his parents this morning in a train-car collision near Princeton, the Highway Patrol said.

The crash killed the driver of the car, Brannon Worth Brady, 25, of 172 Herring Road, and fiancee Crystal Lee Higgins, 22, of the same address.

The infant, Skylar, whose last name was not given, was thrown free of the car and discovered alive by Stacey Jones, who lives near the crash site at Herring Road and U.S. 70A.

"I saw the car seat there and I couldn't find the baby nowhere," said Jones, 34, who later located the baby, a boy, farther down the track, about 200 yards from the crash site. He said the baby had only a few scratches.

The Norfolk Southern train hit the car at a crossing between Princeton and Pine Level. The first call arrived at 10:38 a.m. The intersection has no mechanical signals.

Otis Daughtry, a family friend, said the victims had lived in Johnston County for their entire lives.

The bodies were extricated from the car with "Jaws of Life" equipment around 12:45 p.m. The freight train with four locomotives and dozens of freight cars left the scene about 2 p.m.

The crash scene was in a rural neighborhood with a mix of subdivisions and farms. Two intersection within a few minutes' drive have mechanical signal arms and warning lights.