I am pretty sure the train crashes at 1:05 and 1:08 were not caused by vehicle train collision in fact the wreck at 1:08 am am almost positive that was caused by a run away train.
and i was at Belmont, South Plainfield, New Jersey and there was a road bridge across the tracks and signals and i think it was a Norfolk Southern or a rare Southern high hood.
Yes, at times trains stop before crossing an intersection. If the flashing red lights are flashing, even when the arm is going up, it are betting about a grand (in California) that you would not get cited. Each state has its own rules, but I talked just recently to a person in San Diego that got such a citation for going through the intersection while before the flashing lights stopped flashing...