An 84-year-old woman was taken to the hospital after the car she was driving was struck by a freight train at a crossing in Andover, Massachusetts on Thursday morning. The victim's car was totaled, but MBTA Transit Police said she "came out unscathed." 

People who were near the Essex Street railroad crossing at the time described what they heard. 

"I live literally like one street away, so I heard the train whistle, and it was like extra loud, and it's not always like that," said Anna Barron. 

"We heard a long, long, long blast of the train and then we heard what we thought was a door slamming, but it was obviously the car," said business owner Mark Spencer. 

Woman trapped inside crumpled car

When they came outside, they saw the victim's mangled car, surrounded by first responders. Andover firefighters removed the woman who was trapped inside the car. She was flown to a Boston hospital for treatment. 

Spencer said his security cameras captured the crash. "She tried to drive underneath the gate as the gate was closing," he said. "It is unbelievable. The car caught her on the front end and spun the car around." 

Transit Police said the driver, "proceeded through the warning system, bells, lights and once beyond the threshold, the gates came down." Police said it appeared the driver "panicked and remained still."

Plan to improve intersection

Those familiar with the intersection say it's long been a trouble spot for crashes. 

"One person got stuck but they got out one time, I think their car got hit but not them," said Barron. "I am like very aware of this area, so I pay special attention like I'm very cognizant when I come down this way because it is just a weird area."

The Town of Andover received a $3.3 million grant from the state to improve the intersection and surrounding streets. According to the website for the project, construction was supposed to start in the spring of 2025. 

WBZ-TV has reported on several accidents involving cars and trains at this intersection since 2013. According to the town's own data, there were 13 accidents in this very spot between 2012-2016. Not all of the crashes in that data set involved a train. 

Transit Police detectives are investigating the crash.