BERLIN -- A train hit a car at a crossing in northern Germany early Sunday, killing all three people in the car, police said.

Police said that the regional train hit the car at full speed near Neustadt am Ruebenberge, outside the city of Hannover, German news agency dpa reported.

The car's 22-year-old driver was killed along with two women who were with him in the vehicle, aged 21 and 22. There were 38 passengers and four railway employees on board the train, and one person was slightly injured.

The car apparently drove onto a crossing although the barriers, which didn't cover the whole width of the road, were closed.