JORDAN — A car broke through a crossing arm and collided with a parked train in rural Boone County Wednesday night, killing the driver instantly.

James Sutton, 26, of Des Moines, was the only person in the burgundy Monte Carlo.

The cause of the collision wasn’t immediately clear, said Sgt. Mark Casey of the Iowa State Patrol. The man was probably killed instantly, Casey said.

An Iowa State Patrol spokesman said Thursday an investigation was continuing.

The Union Pacific crossing where the accident occurred is about 50 feet north of the intersection of County Road E41 and Highway 17 near Jordan. The car was traveling north on Highway 17 and was probably moving “at least the speed limit or better,” Casey said.

Officers were first called at 9:30 p.m. Casey said the car was on fire after the accident. After the blaze was extinguished, the car was pulled away from the empty coal car it hit, and officers worked until about midnight to free the driver’s body, removing the car’s roof and doors in the process.

Although the accident was still being investigated, Casey said there was no evidence to indicate the car was accelerating or braking immediately before the collision.

The train was parked awaiting its turn at the rail yard in Boone, Casey said. The crossing arms were down and lights were flashing when the accident occurred. The front of the train was some distance west of the intersection.

Casey said trains are often parked at the intersection and that he’d seen similar accidents.

“We’ve had them here before in the past,” he said.

The empty coal car weighs about 10 times as much as the compact car that struck it, Casey said.

“You lose, you lose — always. Car versus train is not good,” he said.