Victims identified in Hardeeville car-Amtrak collision

Twisted metal, crushed glass and shards of plastic were all that was left of a black, 2005 Ford Taurus after it was struck by an Amtrak train Monday night, instantly killing the car's four passengers, including a mother of six and a 12-year-old girl on her way to sleepover.

Killed were Nancy Ratliff, 27, Jason Scott, 33, Melissa Thomas, 35, and Taylor Arnsdorff, 12, all of Hardeeville.

Ratliff, who authorities said was the driver, apparently was trying to maneuver around the lowered crossing arms.

"They tried to get around the mast arm and beat the train," said Ted Felder, Hardeeville's interim city manager. "They were not able to do it."

Hardeeville Fire Chief Dan Morgan said the scene was one of the worst he had seen in the 14 years he has worked for the town. Some of the staff and volunteer firefighters who responded knew the victims, he said.

"It's sensitive," Morgan said. "We were there within a minute of the accident and the train had pushed the vehicle almost a mile down the tracks. We had some access issues."

No one aboard the train was seriously injured, although one passenger was taken to Coastal Carolina Hospital for treatment ofa respiratory issue and was later released, according to Morgan.

Four agencies continue to investigate the crash, including the Hardeeville Police Department, the state Highway Patrol's major accident investigation team, Amtrak and CSX, the company that owns the tracks. Amtrak officials did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday night.

The Taurus was traveling east on S.C. 46 when the passenger train -- Palmetto Amtrak number 89 -- struck it at 8:50 p.m. near the road's intersection with U.S. 17. The train was traveling at about 79 mph and was heading south to Savannah from Charleston with 22 passengers and five employees on board.

The train's engineer saw the vehicle in the crossing and applied the emergency breaks, police said.

"The rear driver's side passenger and the driver got the full brunt of everything," said Lt. Arnold Middleton of the Hardeeville Police Department.

Middleton said Ratliff was driving Arnsdorff to her house for a sleepover with her daughter. Authorities have not yet determined the relationship among other passengers.

Scott was in the passengers seat, while Thomas, a mother of six, was sitting in the rear on the passenger's side, police said. Arnsdorff was sitting behind Ratliff. All four occupants were wearing seatbelts and had to be extracted from the vehicle, Middleton said.After crews removed the vehicle from the scene, the engineer backed the train to the crossing, where school buses and taxis waited to take passengers to Savannah, Morgan said. Fire crews cleared the scene at about 3 a.m. Tuesday.

Jason Scott's family gathered Tuesday to mourn the loss of a man they said was "happy-go-lucky" and well-liked in the community.

The former Marine Corps lance corporal graduated from Jasper High School in 1995 and had a 6-year-old daughter.

"He lived here all his life," said his sister, Ingrid Scott. "Everybody knew Jason and loved him. He was a jolly person -- he loved to laugh and joke around. He loved his daughter unconditionally. They were so close."

Ingrid Scott said her brother was friends with Ratliff and Thomas.

"There's no need to dwell on it," she said of the driver's attempt to beat the train. "It's not going to do any good."

Jason Scott is survived by his parents, Shirley Scott, 65, and Arthur Scott Jr., 71; his sisters, Vivian Duncan, 35, and Ingrid Scott, 41; and his brother, Craig Scott, 38.

A memorial service for Scott will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Fisher Chapel in Hardeeville. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the Greater Pentecostal Chapel, also in Hardeeville.Hardeeville Police Chief Richard Nagy said two people were killed when a train struck their vehicle at the same intersection in the late 1970s.