A day late.....sorry
#3 9 hours late
[www.denverpost.com]

A Los Angeles-bound Amtrak train collided with a vehicle Sunday morning in southern Colorado, killing five of six people in the vehicle, including three children, according to the State Patrol.

The State Patrol said a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country failed to yield the right of way to the train and was struck at 9:45 a.m. just outside Trinidad. The van’s driver and four of the passengers were killed.

The fatal crash happened at about 10 a.m. in Las Animas County on County Road 32 about five miles north of Trinidad, said Trooper Josh Lewis, a State Patrol spokesman.

The front of the train hit the right side of the van, pushing the van westbound on the tracks until the train came to a stop.

Amtrak’s Southwest Chief train 3, which was traveling from Chicago to Los Angeles, collided with a vehicle that was blocking the track, according to an Amtrak representative.

The train was carrying 286 passengers at the time, who were stranded in the area for the afternoon. No passengers or crew members were injured, according to Amtrak.

The train resumed its route at about 5 p.m., Amtrak officials said.

Four people in the vehicle died at the crash scene, Lewis said. A fifth victim was taken to a hospital and declared dead.
Authorities are not releasing the names of the occupants until after relatives been notified.

A girl, the lone survivor, was taken by helicopter to Children’s Hospital in Aurora with “serious injuries.”

Neither alcohol nor drug use was suspected.