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Three individuals, including a six-year-old boy, died after an Amtrak train smashed into a pickup truck in New York.
Police reportedly said a northbound Amtrak train hit a Dodge truck in North Tonawanda, New York, a small town along the Niagara River between Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
“The North Tonawanda police and fire departments responded and made every effort to help save the three individuals inside the vehicle,” a press release read, according to the New York Post.
“Despite their best efforts all three occupants were pronounced dead at the scene. The three occupants were a 69-year-old male, a 66-year-old female and a 6-year-old male,” it added.
Grandparents and six-year-old boy killed in Amtrak horror crash after their SUV got stuck in between crossing barriers in path of high speed passenger train bound for Niagara Falls https://t.co/3F5abXu58W pic.twitter.com/8kEEJRZDF7
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) May 20, 2024
From the New York Post:
Amtrak spokesperson Olivia Irvin said none of the 21 passengers aboard the train reported injuries following the collision.
The train had departed from the Big Apple and was headed for Niagara Falls when it hit the vehicle.
Photos posted on Facebook by the North Tonawanda firefighter’s union show the aftermath of the crash, with the pickup truck reduced to a mangled metal — and emergency personnel forced to pry open the vehicle to remove the three bodies.
All three were pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not released their names.
First responders at the scene were debriefed and offered counseling and mental health services, firefighter’s Local 1333 said in the post.
Amtrak Train 281 was traveling from New York to Niagara Falls when it hit a Dodge truck Friday evening in North Tonawanda, N.Y. https://t.co/HpDoLKZ4ji
— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) May 19, 2024
An eyewitness described the horrific crash to local media.
Per WGRZ:
An eyewitness to the deadly crash involving an Amtrak passenger train and a pickup truck Friday night says the description of the incident makes it sound like it was 10 minutes.
“But it wasn’t, it happened fast,” said Chrissy Galla Reid.
Reid says the pickup truck, which was driving northbound on River Road in North Tonawanda tried turning right on to Felton Street just before 8 p.m.
Reid was stopped at a red light on River Road, driving southbound toward her home in Kenmore.
According to Reid, a separate incident on Felton Street caused to pickup truck to momentarily pause on the railroad tracks.
She said a North Tonawanda police vehicle was parked on the side of Felton Street close to the rail road track swing arm, facing east towards Oliver Street. In front of the police cruiser was a disable vehicle, and on the other side of Felton Street was a tow truck. The tow truck was facing west toward the Niagara River.
Reid says it’s possible the pickup truck that was hit by the Amtrak train paused on the tracks because it either couldn’t get through, or wasn’t sure if they should try to drive through.
“They pulled pretty decently close to where that emergency vehicle was,” Reid said. “And I thought, ‘Why would anybody pull and sit on the railroad tracks?’ ”
Seconds later, Reid began to panic.
“All of a sudden, I hear the train horn,” Reid said.
The swing arms began to lower, according to Reid, and the pickup truck became boxed-in between them.
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