Amtrak collides with car in Andover crash

Amtrak and MBTA police continued to investigate the collision of a car and train in Andover Sunday morning.

No one was injured in the crash at the intersection of Essex and Pearson streets, and the incident will not impact commuter rail service, according to Jason Johnson, MBTA spokesman.

An Amtrak Downeaster train, which was reportedly traveling around 60 miles per hour, slammed into the vehicle, causing severe damage to its front end. The call for the incident came in around 7:55 a.m., Andover Police spokesman Lt. John Pathiakis said.

The car has since been towed form the scene and the area has re-opened to traffic.

“Everything is back in business,” Pathiakis said, adding that police in the town were not involved in the investigation.

The vehicle’s driver has been identified in other news reports as a woman named Cora Harder, who told CBS she found herself caught between gates at the railway crossing.

“I went through the first gate no problem,” Harder told the news outlet. “Then I saw the second gate going down.”

Pathiakis and Johnson could not speak to the cause for the crash while the investigation continues.

Amtrak’s media contact did not immediately return a request for comment.

The Downeaster train runs between Boston and Brunswick, Maine.