A motorist who died hours after his SUV was struck by a train at a railroad crossing in Bremen Wednesday has been identified as a Tallapoosa resident.

Haralson County Coroner Danny Hutcheson said Thursday that Scott Rodgers, 40, died from blunt force trauma after being ejected from his sport-utility vehicle. He said the SUV “ended up some feet away from the railroad crossing” after being hit by the train.

Bremen police Lt. Blane Cochran said Rodgers was driving northbound over the railroad crossing on Sewell Road in downtown Bremen just before 9 a.m. when the driver’s side of his SUV was hit by a Union Pacific train traveling eastbound on the tracks.

“The vehicle was struck in the driver’s side, then it overturned,” said Cochran.

His investigation showed that the accident was caused by the driver’s failure to yield right-of-way to the train.

Bremen Mayor Sharon Sewell noted that a “plan has been in place for years” to relocate the railroad crossing west of the existing crossing on Sewell Road. That measure comes as part of the city’s Florida Avenue project, which addresses concerns with the city’s railroad system. She said paperwork has been processed for the long-awaited project.

The railroad crossing on Sewell Road, where the accident happened, does not contain an electronic arm or gate.

The Missouri Department of Transportation, one of the few states to offer railroad crossing tips on its Web site, advises motorists to never drive around lowered gates because it’s not only illegal, but can be deadly. Another word of advice is to never race a train to the crossing.

If your vehicle should stall out at a crossing, don’t linger in the car to try to start it up again. A split second could mean the difference between life or death.

“If the train is coming, get out immediately and move quickly away from the tracks in the direction the train is coming from,” the Web site advises. “If you run in the same direction the train is traveling, when the train hits your car you could be injured by flying debris.”

“Be aware that trains cannot stop quickly,” the Missouri officials said, noting that people should understand that trains travel faster than they appear to be.