I'm not sure it makes sense to talk about this now looking worse, but it certainly doesn't get any better. The four victims are now described as a woman of 37, her daughter of 11, and two infants (3 and 1) from other families (she was a nursery assistant or child miner in some sense).
The crossing is an
AHBC▸ , and the entry barrier for this car (from Avenay) was folded back through more than 90 degrees, supporting the assumption that the car drove through it when it was down.
SNCF▸ and the local mayor say it no history of failing to work, but the prosecutor has referred to a witness who saw a barrier descend without warning yesterday. He did not say whether that had been reported to SNCF (there are two direct telephones at the crossing).
This,
from the Independent, does at least show the right crossing (registration needed, I think).