A New London woman died Monday after the vehicle she was driving was struck by an Amtrack train in southeast Iowa. Lieutenant Clint Williams of the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Department says the accident happened off of U.S. Highway 34 when the woman tried to beat the train across the tracks.

He says the crossing arms were down and the train was too close to stop before it struck the vehicle. The 45-year-old woman’s name has not been released pending notification of family. Williams says the crash happened around 5:45 Monday evening and delayed the train for several hours.

Williams says it took three hours for the train to get running again after the accident. All 250 passengers on the train escaped injury.

Contributed by Michael Cation, KBUR, Burlington