Woman, 4 Children Killed at Stockton Railroad Crossing : Tragedy: Penney Corona, 27, of Lodi apparently was trying to race the train despite warning gates and lights. Officials say there was nothing the engineer could do to avoid the crash.

A Lodi woman and four children were killed Thursday morning when the woman, apparently ignoring a lowered crossing gate and flashing lights, drove into the path of a 4,000-ton Union Pacific freight train near Stockton.

The accident occurred when Penney Corona, 27, tried to race the train across the tracks on her way home after dropping off her boyfriend at work, authorities said.

The dead children included Corona’s two daughters, Natosha, 7, and Kayla, 6. Also killed were Mistie L. Martindale, 7, and Altina M. Martindale, 6, the daughters of Corona’s boyfriend, Brian Martindale.

Two of the four children were thrown about 30 feet from the station wagon after the train dragged the car 360 feet down the tracks and deposited it on an embankment, California Highway Patrol Officer Bob Whitmire said.

All five victims died at the crash site.

The collision came at 7:52 a.m., when Corona, traveling east on Eight Mile Road, maneuvered around two cars and the lowered crossing gate into the westbound lane.

Witnesses say she hesitated momentarily at the tracks, then accelerated in front of the mile-long train, which was barreling toward the crossing at nearly 60 m.p.h.

The train, which was 100 to 150 feet away when Corona approached the crossing, smashed into the right side of the station wagon, Whitmire said.

“According to witnesses, the crossing arms came down, the warning lights were flashing and bells ringing. The train’s headlamp was on and its horn was sounding,” Whitmire said. “The engineer did see the car approach, but lost sight of it and then felt the impact.”

The crash scattered debris, including broken glass and transmission parts, over several hundred feet.

“It was a pretty gruesome scene,” said Whitmire, who said the wreck was one of the worst he had seen in his 26-year career.

CHP and Union Pacific officials said there was nothing the train engineer could have done to avoid the crash. The train was hauling a cargo of new cars.