An Amtrak passenger train crashed into a four-door sedan on Sunday at an intersection with no train signal or guardrails in a rural area of Northern California’s East Bay, killing three people and seriously injuring two others, including a child, a spokesman for the spokesman said. the local fire and emergency services.
The victims were pronounced dead at the scene, Steve Aubert, a fire chief with the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District, said in a telephone interview.
The injured child was taken to a hospital in an ambulance, but the injured adult was transported by helicopter for treatment, indicating the injuries were potentially life-threatening, Mr Aubert added. He called both injuries “serious.”
A BNSF Railway spokeswoman said the crash happened around 1:15 p.m. and that a total of “about” five people were injured. Mr Aubert said he was aware of only two injuries and 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 BNSF, the track owner, to investigate the incident,” she added.
Such accidents, she added, “serve as a critical reminder of the importance of obeying the law and exercising extreme caution around railway lines and intersections.”
Two employees of John Muir Health, the hospital where the injured were taken, declined to comment on their status.
The people in the sedan were traveling from an event in the area where about 150 people attended, Mr. aubert.
He described the intersection, on a dirt road in a largely agricultural area in Brentwood, about 60 miles east of San Francisco, as “highly potentially dangerous,” and said emergency services responded at least once or twice to accidents involving trains and smaller vehicles. vehicles a year.
In recent years, the area has been the scene of frequent Amtrak collisions resulting in serious injuries, close calls and wrecked trucks.
While there are no guardrails or signals at the intersection, trains are allowed to travel 80 miles per hour, Mr. aubert.
“If you’re not careful and if you come across the track,” he added, “your car and a train can come together pretty quickly.”
April Rubin reporting contributed.