The fatal accident took place on Sunday at around 5:30 p.m. at a railway crossing on the Kohtla-Järve-Kukruse-Tammiku road in Ida Viru County. At the time of the accident there were two people in the Toyota, the driver as well as one passenger.

Continuing on towards the crossing despite the red light, the Toyota’s driver overtook the cars already waiting and collided with an Elron passenger train. According to the police, the Toyota was on the opposite carriageway at the time of the collision.

The police said they were in the process of determining the identity of the Toyota’s occupants, and would determine whether or not the driver was drunk at the time of the accident. According to Rainet Juuse of the East police prefecture, the tragic accident could have been avoided.

“Ignoring a red light can cause tragic consequences, at a railway crossing as well as at an intersection elsewhere. We’d like to remind everybody to pay attention and be careful in traffic,” Juuse said.

The Elron train was on the way from Tallinn to Narva and only managed to come to a complete standstill some 100 m after the collision. Traffic is being redirected, the train connection to Narva is currently interrupted.