ATHERTON, Mo. — A woman has died after a crash involving an Amtrak train in Jackson County.
Witnesses say the woman drove around barricades blocking the tracks in Atherton — northeast of Independence. She was killed when Amtrak’s Southwest Chief crashed into her pickup.
A child and a man in the truck were taken to metro hospitals for treatment.
The Southwest Chief was en route to Kansas City from Chicago. Amtrak released this statement to Fox 4:
Amtrak Train 3, the Southwest Chief, was delayed by about three hours after making contact with a vehicle on the tracks at a crossing between LaPlata and Kansas City, Mo. There were no injuries to the 102 Amtrak customers or to the train crew. There was cosmetic damage to the lead locomotive of the westbound train, which operates daily between Chicago and Los Angeles.
In this area, Train 3 uses tracks owned, maintained and dispatched by BNSF Railway Co.
These incidents are often tragic and are avoidable by drivers if they heed the warnings of the approaching train and wait a minute or so for it to pass.
For more information, visit Operation Lifesaver, the railroad industry-supported safety campaign at oli.org.