(The following story by Stan Finger appeared on The Wichita Eagle website on April 30.)
WICHITA, Kan. — One person was killed and another critically injured after the car they were in was struck by a Union Pacific train in south Wichita during the morning commute.
The southbound train struck the car at the crossing near 31st Street South and K-15, said James Barnes, a spokesman for Union Pacific in Omaha.
The driver of the car, a 34-year-old man from Honduras, died at the scene.
The injured victim has been taken to Wesley Medical Center and remains in critical condition.
Police said the incident appears to a case of inattentive driving.
The two men are employees of Cornejo and Sons, company spokesman Chuck Hill said, and were on their way to work at the time of the collision.
They drove south on K-15, parallelling the train, and then turned right on the private drive into the business.
No crew members on the train were injured, Barnes said, but they were replaced by another crew for the remainder of the trip.
It’s standard company practice to replace crews that have been involved in collisions, Barnes said, so they can receive peer counseling.
The train was traveling from Wichita to Fort Worth at the time of the collision.
“This was a tragic incident,” Barnes said. “Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones” of the victims.
Barnes said railroad officials will be reviewing imagery from a track image recorder mounted on the front of the engine to get a clearer picture of how the collision occurred.