Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Woman, child dead after Amtrak train hits SUV in California

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — A mother and her child died Tuesday after an Amtrak train collided with their SUV in the San Francisco Bay Area, authorities said.

Television news footage of the early afternoon crash in San Leandro showed the front of the SUV crushed beneath the train.

Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said the crash occurred at a railroad crossing. She did not know whether the arms were down.

There were 39 passengers on the train bound for Sacramento from San Jose. None of them was injured, Graham said.

The train is allowed to go up to 79 mph through the area. Graham said she didn't know how fast it was going.

KTVU-TV reported the SUV was stopped on the tracks because of traffic.

Paul Wilke, a passenger on the train, told the news station that the train was moving at normal speed when he heard a long whistle and felt the train slow down and crash before stopping quickly.

Firefighters responded after receiving a report of a train crash with people trapped in the vehicle, Alameda County fire spokeswoman Aisha Knowles said.

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