CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Five people were killed today when they drove around the gates of a grade crossing and their car was struck by an approaching Amtrak train, police said.
“It looks like they probably did go around the arm,” The Associated Press quoted Sgt. Mark Gajeski as saying. “They went around the gate.”
All five victims are believed to be teenagers.
According to published reports, the crossing’s gate and flashing lights appeared to be working at the time of the wreck.
“There is every indication the train crew was doing exactly what it should have been doing and that there was no malfunction of the train,” The Associated Press quoted an Amtrak spokesman as saying. “They can’t make vehicles, or pedestrians for that matter, heed signals.
“This is tragic for both the family of those who died and the train crew,” the spokesman added, according to the report.
After the wreck, the train pushed the car for about a mile before it was able to stop. The train was heading to Chicago from Detroit.
— Railfanning.org News Wire
