Texas new mom killed as partner tried crossing tracks to beat on-coming train on drive home after giving birth
A 30-year-old Texas new mother was killed after the car she was travelling in tried to cross railway tracks and was hit by an oncoming train. Rhonda Clay was returning home from the hospital -- after giving birth prematurely to a baby girl named Lovely -- along with her partner Brittine Green when the accident happened. According to cops, Brittinie tried to beat on-coming train and drove onto the tracks.
Harris County sheriff's deputies asserted that Green was traveling northbound on Sheldon Road in a BMW X3 around 5 pm, when she went into the southbound lanes of the road in order to go around two vehicles stopped for railroad crossing arms. The Amtrak passenger train struck the BMW X3 around 5 pm near Sheldon Road and Beaumont Highway in east Harris County, Texas. The deputies say that the arms were in the down position, when Green drove around them, which was a sure sign that a train was coming.
Clay was thrown from the car, which was pushed several hundred feet down the tracks by the force of the impact by the New Orleans to Los Angeles train.
She was declared dead at the scene after the incident and Green faces charges of manslaughter, according to the Houston Chronicle. She is currently in hospital and is recovering. Green has been accused of recklessly causing the death of her partner by driving around the railroad crossing arms and onto the tracks, according to Harris County court documents.
Rhonda's mother Cassandra said that her daughter and Green had been friends since high school. In May, they moved in together. Green had a tendency to drive fast, and was likely trying to beat the train in a rush to get home, she said. However, she said she does not think Green deserves to be charged with manslaughter. "Knowing her, I know it wasn't intentional. She's going to hold stuff more against herself than we would," Cassandra said.
"I know God did not make a mistake," she added. "My faith will take me through this. He (God) does things for a reason." She added, "Until you get put in this role, you're numb."
"I'm not upset with Brittinie. I know she would not do anything to hurt Rhonda," said Rhonda's father James Sr. "My prayers are with her, so she can make it and everything will be ok."
Opening up about Rhonda's delivery, Cassandra said her daughter always wanted and became pregnant through IVF treatment after several years of trying. Nearly three weeks ago, she was hospitalized with pregnancy complications and doctors performed a C-section on Monday. Clay gave birth to her 24-week-old daughter, named Lovely. The family says that they will raise Rhonda's newborn baby girl.
Rhonda's younger siblings paid tribute to their sister, and mentioned that she was a big and prominent part of their lives and recalled some of their memories with her. "My sister was at every track meet I had when I was in school. She was my biggest supporter," Rhonda's brother Caleb told ABC13.
Her other brother James added: "I just want to tell my sister that I love her. She means the world to me. That's my best friend. We grew up together."