An Amtrak train collided with a vehicle at an unprotected crossing in the United States, killing three people and injuring at least two others.
According to the East Bay Times, the incident occurred near Brentwood, California, when the passenger train collided with a truck that was crossing the tracks. Mercedes Regalado, 51, Maria Nieves, 72, and Julia Mondragon, 41, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office, while two people were airlifted to a nearby hospital. The accident, however, did not injure any of the passengers on the train.
According to CNN, “it’s in a rural area with no guards or signals,” Steve Aubert, a fire marshal with the East Contra Costa fire protection district, said.
Authorities consider the crossing to be “highly potentially dangerous,” according to Aubert, and collisions are common near the crossing.
“It’s in the rural part of our district, so it’s a lot more farmland out there. There are no crossing arms, there are no signals at that crossover, and it’s not the first accident that we’ve been to at that same spot. Trains are allowed to go up to 80 miles-per-hour along that stretch, so it doesn’t take long for a train to catch up right at that crossing there,” Aubert said in the report.
The railroad company BNSF is currently investigating the incident, but they have stated that the line is open for traffic and that train services have resumed on the route.
