By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – A driver who was allegedly distracted by some sort of electronic device inside her car received minor injuries after her vehicle pulled into the path of an oncoming train Friday afternoon.

Trenesha Love, 29, LaPlace, was transported to East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie after a freight train collided with her 2005 Jeep Laredo as she drove over the railroad crossing at Spruce Street near Captain G. Bourgeois Street. The impact caused her vehicle to flip before coming to rest in a grassy area on the left side of Spruce Street. The accident happened around 12:45 p.m. Friday.

The conductor of the train, owned by Canadian National, told St. John Sheriff’s deputies working the scene that Love was typing on an electronic GPS device as she drove over the tracks. He said Love failed to stop at the posted stop sign, and did not look up as she was going through the intersection.

The conductor, who was not injured, said the train was traveling east along the tracks at about 38 mph when the accident occurred. Love’s Jeep was heading north on Spruce toward W. 5th street when the train clipped her rear end, right around the gas tank.

Sgt. Conrad Baker of the St. John Sheriff’s Office traffic division said Love was cited for failure to yield at a railroad crossing.

Police blocked off parts of Main Street and Spruce Street at the railroad crossing while conducting their investigation. The accident disrupted traffic for about an hour.