The names of three people killed in a train collision Sunday in unincorporated Contra Costa County were released Monday by the county coroner’s office.
Dixon residents Julia Mondragon, 41, and Maria Nieves, 72, were killed along with 51-year-old Brentwood resident Mercedes Regalado.
An Amtrak train hit a car with five people inside around 1 p.m. in the 3000 block of Orwood Road. The two others in the car suffered major injuries. One of the injured was a child.
The railroad crossing had no gates. East Contra Costa Fire Protection District spokesman Steve Aubert said collisions at the crossing are not uncommon.
None of the 85 people on board the train were injured. The tracks where the collision occurred are owned by BNSF Railway, which is investigating.
12 comments
The tragedy of the soul is that they were attending a fundraiser for a family of someone else who had died, making this an even worse event. In our prayers!
Yes, very sad indeed.
Heartbreaking..sending condolences to all families during this difficult time. May they rest in peace
I can’t believe there’s not some kind of blinking sign when the train comes. There was a paper sign attached to a fence. Seriously
No lights, No Arm coming down, no warning signal to let drivers know a train is coming, OUTRAGEOUS!!
Somebody needs to take responsibility for this senseless tragedy. Even tho this is a private road, those not familiar wouldn’t know that a train is hurdling towards them.
This is horrific for the train conductor who tried to brake and those who were injured, died and those at the memorial gathering for another who had passed.
BNSF Railway: FIX this crossing before others find themselves on this private road…….
Safety is the main thing. Keep cars off the tracks at a times.
A resident was out on his property when this occurred and he clearly stated that the train had its whistle blaring 3 to 4 times as is required. There has to be more to this than is being released to the public.
How could so many people in the car ignore the train whistle plus if the car was stalled they had time to exit!
Something is missing from this report?
Made me wonder too. I used to live in downtown Nashville for years about a mile or more from the tracks. I heard that train from a distance inside a high rise building daily. I just can’t understand how the train couldn’t be heard. I can’t say they could see as someone else mentioned it’s a blind spot? But still, can’t you feel the tracks as you drive over them whether or not there’s a sign? It’s a rather mysterious situation; and a tragic loss.
I’ve been startled by Amtrak trains going so fast I had little time to react.
How fast does Amtrak travel through this area?
I read in another article that the trains can go up to 80 mph in this area.
In the UK, there was a campaign to try to get people to stop walking on the rails. In one article about it they said this…
“People assume that trains are loud, but that assumption is based on the fact that when a train’s gone past them in a station it’s noisy. That’s because the noise a train makes is mainly projected to either side. When trains are moving directly towards you they are barely audible–until it’s too late.”
“It’s surprisingly easy to overload the brain to the point where it can’t triangulate where sound is coming from.”
Amtrak has ZERO reason to go slow in that area. It is Not a densely populated area.
This whole thing is just SAD.
Amtrak has cab cams. I really wonder if they got stuck.
I thought there were stop signs at the crossing. There is no way that guardrails and flashing lights can be put at every single rural railroad crossing in the US. Most of those will have stop signs though. And really … it’s common sense to stop and look both ways at a railroad crossing. I’m sorry for the families involved in this accident.
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