MetaChat is an informal place for MeFites to touch base and post, discuss and
chatter about topics that may not belong on MetaFilter. Questions? Check the FAQ. Please note: This is important.
According to comments under the clip, they actually charged the car's driver: "This news came out just today:
Authorities in Ashland said they have identified and charged the driver of a vehicle that was hit by a train early Sunday.
Lizzeth Calderon Henriquez was charged with misdemeanor hit and run, operating a vehicle without a driver’s license, and operating a vehicle without insurance."
No insurance, so no insurance fraud. I wonder if it wasn't her car (maybe an ex's?) and she was trying to "get even".
I think it must have been a very sudden decision, because it is difficult to know precisely when those CSX trains are roaring through Ashland. It's the engineer I feel sorry for -- unable to stop in time and not knowing at that moment that no one was in the car. I've seen a lot of "near miss" videos and I would think that engineers must have blood pressure and anxiety and every stress-related condition out there.