A passenger Amtrak train crashed into a four-door sedan at an intersection without a train signal or guardrails in a rural eastern Gulf of Northern California on Sunday, killing three people and seriously injuring two others, including a child, a local fire and emergency spokesman said.
The victims were pronounced dead at the scene, said Steve Oberth, a fire marshal from the East Contra Costa fire department, in a telephone interview.
The injured child was taken to hospital by ambulance, but the injured adult was transported by helicopter for treatment, signaling that the injuries could be life-threatening, Mr Ober added. He called both injuries “severe.”
A BNSF Railway spokeswoman said the crash happened around 1:15 p.m. and that “approximately” five people were injured in total. Mr Ober said he knew of only two injuries and that no one on the train was injured.
The five-car train was carrying nearly 90 people, an Amtrak spokeswoman said in an email.
“Amtrak is working with local law enforcement and the BNSF, the track owner, to investigate the incident,” she added.
Such incidents, she added, “serve as critical reminders of the importance of law enforcement and extreme caution around railway tracks and junctions.”
Two employees of John Muir Health, the hospital where the injured were taken, declined to comment on their condition.
People in the sedan were traveling from an event in the area, which was attended by about 150 people, Mr Ober said.
He described the junction, on a dirt road in a predominantly agricultural area in Brentwood, about 60 miles east of San Francisco, as “highly potentially dangerous”, saying emergency services had responded to incidents involving trains and smaller vehicles. funds at least once or twice a year.
In recent years, the area has regularly been the site of Amtrak clashes, which have led to serious injuries, close calls and broken trucks.
Although there are no guardrails or signals at the crossing, trains can run at 80 miles per hour, Mr Ober said.
“If you’re not careful and if you get off the rails,” he added, your car and train “can come together pretty quickly.”
April Rubin contributed to the report.
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