TRAGIC

Three Dead After Amtrak Train Smashes Into Car at Unguarded Crossing

Two others—including a child—were left critically injured, authorities say.

Three people were killed on Sunday when an Amtrak passenger train hit a four-door sedan at a railroad crossing without guardrails or a train signal in a rural part of Northern California’s Bay Area. Two others, including a child, were left critically injured in the crash. The three fatalities were pronounced dead at the scene while the two survivors were rushed to hospital for “major” injuries. Despite the lack of safety features at the crossing—which authorities say sees an average of one or two incidents a year—trains are allowed to travel at 80 miles an hour on the stretch of track operated by BNSF. An Amtrak spokeswoman told the New York Times that incidents like this one “serve as critical reminders about the importance of obeying the law and of exercising extreme caution around railroad tracks and crossings.”