(The Fresno Bee posted the following article by Marc Benjamin on its website on March 28.)
FRESNO, Calif. — With her car sheared in two pieces by an Amtrak train, Pamela Jones had one question as she was carried by stretcher to an ambulance: “How’s my car?”
At Palm and Dakota avenues, witnesses watched half in horror and half in amazement Thursday afternoon as Jones, 45, of Fresno, was taken to the ambulance.
The steering column and engine compartment were in one piece, and the rear passenger compartment made up the second piece of her white Chevrolet Corsica. A tow-truck driver was leaving with the passenger compartment when officers reminded him about the engine compartment.
The passenger-side door was in front of the Amtrak train, which stopped about a quarter-mile north of Palm Avenue.
The northbound Amtrak train was traveling at high speed as it approached Palm, said Fresno police officer Mike Kirby.
He arrived shortly after the 1 p.m. collision, reportedly caused when Jones drove around the gate and flashing lights that warn of oncoming trains.
“When I saw the car, I couldn’t see how anybody could survive that,” Kirby said while taking a break from collecting Jones’ possessions strewn along the tracks.
Jones was listed in critical condition Thursday night at University Medical Center.
“The angels have been working overtime for her,” Kirby said just before he bent down to pick up biblical videotapes.
Karina Van Veen, a Washington, D.C.-based Amtrak spokeswoman, said 140 passengers and five crew members were on the train. None was injured. She said the train’s front plow had slight damage.
The collision delayed the train destined for Oakland for an hour and 40 minutes. It was 20 minutes’ late leaving Fresno.
Eight months ago today, an Amtrak train slammed into a minivan, killing Paul Grannis, 79, who pulled around other cars while warning lights were flashing and railroad gates were down.