(The Associated Press circulated the following story on March 24.)
MODESTO, Calif. — A woman was killed early Tuesday trying to beat an Amtrak train through an intersection, the fire department said.
The woman, who was alone in her vehicle, passed around crossing arms that were already down, spokesman Hugo Patino said. The train hit the car, shearing off its front end and causing it to erupt in flames.
The force of the collision sent the car spinning, and it hit a second vehicle that also caught fire.
Patino said a passerby pulled three passengers out of the second burning vehicle. At least two people were hospitalized.
The names of the victims had not been released late Tuesday.
None of the 102 passengers on the train was injured, but an Amtrak spokesman said passenger and freight trains would be delayed throughout the day.