OTTAWA, Ill. (STNG) --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 in LaSalle County. 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.
Both 82-year-old Benjamin Rasmusen and 81-year-old Marilyn Rasmusen of Leland were killed in the crash. The name of the third deceased victim was not released late Monday.
The two other occupants were injured, and their names also were not released. One 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.
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.
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