Emergency personnel carefully carry a stretcher holding an injured person away from a wrecked vehicle toward an ambulance Thursday afternoon. (Escanaba Daily Press photo)

BRAMPTON — A team of uniformed responders from various agencies carried a stretcher through the snow, away from railroad tracks and a red Toyota pickup truck that lay on its side with the top cut off. A voice spoke calmly and reassuringly to the injured woman: “You’re doing great.”

The incident that led to this scene began shortly before 1 p.m. on Thursday, when the passenger vehicle collided with a Canadian National train where its tracks crossed a lane in Brampton Township just off Highway M-35.

“A preliminary investigation indicates the pickup truck was attempting to cross the railroad tracks at a private crossing and failed to yield to an oncoming train, which resulted in the crash,” read a statement from the Michigan State Police.

Over the hour following the collision, responders worked to safely extract the driver and passenger from the truck, transport them to the hospital for medical attention and clear the scene. Speaking briefly on the frozen lane near the wreckage, Michigan State Police Sgt. Patrick Janisse said that the primary goal had been to remove the patients from the vehicle. The task was accomplished thanks to the Jaws of Life and collaboration of volunteers and various agencies.

The driver, a 76-year-old woman from Gladstone, died Thursday at OSF St. Francis Hospital in Escanaba as a result of her injuries. The passenger, an 82-year-old woman from Gladstone, was flown by Guardian Flight to HSHS St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where she remains in critical condition.

Crew aboard the train were not harmed.

Among those assisting were Delta County Central Dispatch, U.P. Health System, Michigan State Police, Brampton Township Volunteer Fire Department / Auxiliary, Baldwin Township Fire and Rescue, Escanaba Township Volunteer Fire Department, city of Escanaba Public Safety Department, Cornell Volunteer Fire Department, Canadian National and Guardian Flight.