By . Snejana Farberov . PUBLISHED: . 10:09 EST, 3 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:06 EST, 3 April 2013 . A southeast Iowa woman's decision to drive her minivan around a warning signal at a railroad crossing proved fatal after two of her three children were killed when a freight train struck them. A Dodge Caravan driven by 25-year-old Tara Lewman stopped at a train crossing Monday afternoon in the tiny city of Batavia, where she and her three children lived. Lewman saw a stopped train on the two sets of tracks in front of her and drove ahead and around the cross arms signalling motorists to stop, unable to see a second oncoming train, Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Scott Bright said. Horrific scene: Tara Lewman's Dodge Caravan minivan ended up in a ditch after being struck by a freight train at the Batavia rail crossing . Fatal mistake: Officials say Lewman went around the cross arms, not knowing that there was an oncoming train hiding from view behind another parked train . ‘She could not see because the train was blocking the view,’ Bright said. Witness Verdae Blom, who works just yards from the railroad corseting in Batavia, told The Des Moines Register that he heard a loud noise at around 4pm Monday and then saw a plume of dust rising from the tracks. He walked over to the railroad . crossing, only to discover that two children had been thrown out of a . crushed minivan which he said looked like a 'tangled mess' lying in a . ditch. The . second train, hidden from view, had suddenly appeared as Lewman drove over . the tracks. It plunged into the minivan's passenger side, killing . Lewman's young daughters. The children, identified as Erika, age four, and Kallie, age five, in the press, are called Erica and . Callie by their grandmother. Lewman . and her 1-year-old son, Jordan, survived. The pair were airlifted by . helicopter to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Their conditions remain unknown. The . newspaper reported that Batavia Fire Chief Dave Wells said railroad . crew at the scene helped authorities in trying to revive the children . and treat the survivors. Family torn apart: Tara Lewman, far right, was injured along with her toddler son, seen here in his father's arms, while their two daughters, pictured, were killed . Lives cut short: The young girls, Erika and Kallie, were described by those who knew them as happy and playful . ‘When our guys got there, the railroad people were already doing CPR on one of the kids,’ he said. ‘It's a very sad thing. Crashes with small children are never easy to deal with.’ Just minutes . earlier, Tara Lewman allegedly drove around a lowered crossing gate in . her 2004 Dodge minivan, which ended up being struck by a westbound . Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train. Officials . say the mother of three could not see the train coming because her view . was blocked by an eastbound Burlington Northern that was parked on the . tracks. Heartbreaking sight: Witnesses who rushed to the scene saw that two of Lewman's children were thrown from the vehicle . Wreckage: All that was left of Lewman's minivan after it was slammed by a westbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train was a tangled mess . 'She knew better,' Tara Lewman's uncle, Bert Lewman, told the Register. 'She shouldn't have ridden with the arm down, but it's just one of those things.' Bert Lewman described Tara's daughters, Kallie and Erika, as playful and happy, and said that his niece is a 'real good mom' who would do anything for her children. Kallie and Erika Lewman attended school at the Cardinal Community School District in Eldon, according to another parent Lacey Mills. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the . school district posted a message on Facebook that read: 'We are working . with staff and students to process this loss.' Mills said she told her 7-year-old son that his two schoolmates had died, 'he had tears in his eyes. 'He's like, "Are they gonna come back?"'the mother said. Being . a small community, trains do not slow down while passing through . Batavia as they do in bigger cities, usually going at about 60mph. Kind words: A relative called Lewman, far right, a great mother who would do anything for her children . Shattered clan: Lewman's daughters, seen bottom left, were killed on the spot, while the mother, top left, and her son, pictured in his father's arms right, were airlifted to a hospital . Devastated community: The death of the two young girls left people in the small town of 500 reeling . Sgt Bright said the incident is a reminder about train safety. ‘The best thing to do is to wait and not take for granted that the train is coming,’ he said. Since 1975, the Batavia crossing has been the scene of two other collisions involving vehicles being struck by trains, according to federal data. In 1991, a driver went around a crossing gate, and a passenger was killed by a train. Batavia, a city of about 500 people in Jefferson County, was also the site of a 1990 train derailment in which more than 85 people were injured, the Journal Express reported. The April 23, 1990, incident that involved a California Zephyr train also caused $1.8million worth of damage, or more than $3million in today’s money.
Tara Lewman, 25, went around the crossing gate in her Dodge Caravan minivan carrying three children .
Driver couldn't see oncoming westbound .
Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train from behind a parked train .
Erika Clarke, 4, and Kallie Clark, 5, were thrown from the mangled van and died .
Lewman and her 1-year-old son survived and were rushed to a hospital .
By . Snejana Farberov . PUBLISHED: . 10:09 EST, 3 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:06 EST, 3 April 2013 . A southeast Iowa woman's decision to drive her minivan around a warning signal at a railroad crossing proved fatal after two of her three children were killed when a freight train struck them. A Dodge Caravan driven by 25-year-old Tara Lewman stopped at a train crossing Monday afternoon in the tiny city of Batavia, where she and her three children lived. Lewman saw a stopped train on the two sets of tracks in front of her and drove ahead and around the cross arms signalling motorists to stop, unable to see a second oncoming train, Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Scott Bright said. Horrific scene: Tara Lewman's Dodge Caravan minivan ended up in a ditch after being struck by a freight train at the Batavia rail crossing . Fatal mistake: Officials say Lewman went around the cross arms, not knowing that there was an oncoming train hiding from view behind another parked train . ‘She could not see because the train was blocking the view,’ Bright said. Witness Verdae Blom, who works just yards from the railroad corseting in Batavia, told The Des Moines Register that he heard a loud noise at around 4pm Monday and then saw a plume of dust rising from the tracks. He walked over to the railroad . crossing, only to discover that two children had been thrown out of a . crushed minivan which he said looked like a 'tangled mess' lying in a . ditch. The . second train, hidden from view, had suddenly appeared as Lewman drove over . the tracks. It plunged into the minivan's passenger side, killing . Lewman's young daughters. The children, identified as Erika, age four, and Kallie, age five, in the press, are called Erica and . Callie by their grandmother. Lewman . and her 1-year-old son, Jordan, survived. The pair were airlifted by . helicopter to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Their conditions remain unknown. The . newspaper reported that Batavia Fire Chief Dave Wells said railroad . crew at the scene helped authorities in trying to revive the children . and treat the survivors. Family torn apart: Tara Lewman, far right, was injured along with her toddler son, seen here in his father's arms, while their two daughters, pictured, were killed . Lives cut short: The young girls, Erika and Kallie, were described by those who knew them as happy and playful . ‘When our guys got there, the railroad people were already doing CPR on one of the kids,’ he said. ‘It's a very sad thing. Crashes with small children are never easy to deal with.’ Just minutes . earlier, Tara Lewman allegedly drove around a lowered crossing gate in . her 2004 Dodge minivan, which ended up being struck by a westbound . Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train. Officials . say the mother of three could not see the train coming because her view . was blocked by an eastbound Burlington Northern that was parked on the . tracks. Heartbreaking sight: Witnesses who rushed to the scene saw that two of Lewman's children were thrown from the vehicle . Wreckage: All that was left of Lewman's minivan after it was slammed by a westbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train was a tangled mess . 'She knew better,' Tara Lewman's uncle, Bert Lewman, told the Register. 'She shouldn't have ridden with the arm down, but it's just one of those things.' Bert Lewman described Tara's daughters, Kallie and Erika, as playful and happy, and said that his niece is a 'real good mom' who would do anything for her children. Kallie and Erika Lewman attended school at the Cardinal Community School District in Eldon, according to another parent Lacey Mills. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the . school district posted a message on Facebook that read: 'We are working . with staff and students to process this loss.' Mills said she told her 7-year-old son that his two schoolmates had died, 'he had tears in his eyes. 'He's like, "Are they gonna come back?"'the mother said. Being . a small community, trains do not slow down while passing through . Batavia as they do in bigger cities, usually going at about 60mph. Kind words: A relative called Lewman, far right, a great mother who would do anything for her children . Shattered clan: Lewman's daughters, seen bottom left, were killed on the spot, while the mother, top left, and her son, pictured in his father's arms right, were airlifted to a hospital . Devastated community: The death of the two young girls left people in the small town of 500 reeling . Sgt Bright said the incident is a reminder about train safety. ‘The best thing to do is to wait and not take for granted that the train is coming,’ he said. Since 1975, the Batavia crossing has been the scene of two other collisions involving vehicles being struck by trains, according to federal data. In 1991, a driver went around a crossing gate, and a passenger was killed by a train. Batavia, a city of about 500 people in Jefferson County, was also the site of a 1990 train derailment in which more than 85 people were injured, the Journal Express reported. The April 23, 1990, incident that involved a California Zephyr train also caused $1.8million worth of damage, or more than $3million in today’s money.
and her three children lived. Lewman saw a Dodge Caravan minivan ended up in a ditch after behind another parked train . ‘She could not see grandmother. Lewman . and her 1-year-old son, Heartbreaking sight: Witnesses who rushed to the thrown from the vehicle . Wreckage: All that was a westbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight for her children. Kallie and Erika Lewman driver went around a crossing gate, and a