No injuries in train vs. vehicle accident

Both of these articles are taken from my local newspaper and happened right next to each other 4 days apart

There were no injuries when an Amtrak train struck a vehicle in downtown Sandwich near Main Street and Center Street around 3:10 p.m. Friday, Sandwich Police said.

The train, en route to Chicago from California, was traveling eastbound, when a 2005 Dodge Neon stalled on the railroad tracks, police said.

The vehicle's two occupants, Octaviano Ortega, 63 and Maria Ortega, 60, both of the 300 block of Joles Street, Sandwich, escaped the vehicle after the railroad crossing gates lowered in anticipation of the oncoming train, according to police.

The vehicle, police said, was badly damaged.

One of the vehicle's occupants was transported to Valley West Community Hospital in Sandwich, but was later released with no injuries, police said.

None of the Amtrak passengers were injured, police said.

3 dead in train-car crash near Somonauk

Three people were killed when an Amtrak train collided with a car Monday afternoon on East 23rd Road just north of Route 34 near Somonauk. It was the second collision between an Amtrak train and a car in the area in the past three days.

LaSalle County sheriff's deputies were called to the scene of the collision at 3:07 p.m. Monday. According to police reports, an Amtrak train headed from Union Station in Chicago to California collided with a vehicle on the tracks. Five people were in the car at the time, according to LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton.

» Click to enlarge image

Amtrak workers inspect train tracks after a train and a car collided on Route 34 west of Sandwich on Monday.
(Heather Eidson/Staff Photographer)

» Click to enlarge image

Amtrak workers investigate train tracks after a train and a car collided on Route 34 west of Sandwich on Monday.
(Heather Eidson/Staff Photographer)

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• Google map: Site of the accident

Benjamin Rasmusen, 82, and Marilyn Rasmusen,81 of Leland and thier 9-year-old granddaughter, Elizabeth Rasmusen, of Bloomington, Ind., were killed inthe crash, according to the LaSalle County Coroner's office.

Two others in the car, Amelia Rasmusen, 10, and Benjamin Rasmusen, 7, were injured and later taken to a trauma center in Rockford, LaSalle County authorities said. The three children, all from Bloomington, Ind., are the couple's grandchildren.

One of the children was taken to Valley West Hospital in Sandwich, the other was flown to a hospital in Rockford.

Templeton said evidence shows the car did not stop before crossing the tracks, and was struck by the train's lead engine. There are signs but no gates at the crossing.

None of the passengers and crew of the train were injured, according to Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari. He confirmed a vehicle had been obstructing the tracks at the time of the crash.

A Nebraska woman aboard the Amtrak train sent The Beacon News an e-mail early Tuesday praising the train crew for their efforts -- and expressing horror at the collision.

Sandra Wendel of Waterloo, Neb., wrote:

"My husband and I were passengers on the Amtrak train that was involved in the collision. We were also in the collision last Friday in Sandwich. Please know that those of us aboard the train were horrified as debris from the collision with the vehicle and with the car hitting what officials called a signal bridge swirled by the train windows, hitting them and causing notable damage to the train structure and windows...

"The Amtrak crew performed their emergency tasks with dignity, grace and compassion for the victims and for the passengers. We applaud them."

Wendel said Amtrak provided a bus to take about 200 passengers "going to destinations between the crash site and Omaha."

"The other passengers remained on the train as damaged cars were taken off. We were told at the Omaha station that the train has resumed its run to California this morning," she said.

More than four hours after the accident, the scene was basically clear; the car was gone, and so were the ambulance crews.

Amtrak workers in bright orange vests combed the scene with hard hats on. Workers remained tight lipped as they took measurements, and documentation, guiding slow-moving cars over the now clear tracks.

Jim Weber of Kinsel's Collision Center in Sandwich towed the wreckage away. He said he had never seen anything like this crash, and had to call for help collecting parts of the car. He said he couldn't even tell what kind of car he was dealing with.

The remains of the car will stay at Kinsel's, Weber said, until someone claims them.

This is the second local Amtrak crash in the past week. A train traveling from Chicago to California struck a 2005 Dodge Neon at Main and Center streets in downtown Sandwich Friday afternoon, but neither of the car's occupants were injured.

The investigation is being conducted by the LaSalle sheriff's office and county coroner's office.

Staff writer Erika Wurst and photographer Heather Eidson contributed to this report.