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Man killed when Amtrak train hits SUV in Vancouver

Vehicle was crossing the tracks on a private driveway, according to police

By Stevie Mathieu, Columbian Assistant Metro Editor
Published: September 6, 2014, 5:00pm
2 Photos
Emergency officials respond to the scene where an Amtrak train collided with an SUV Sunday morning in Vancouver, killing the man who was driving the SUV.
Emergency officials respond to the scene where an Amtrak train collided with an SUV Sunday morning in Vancouver, killing the man who was driving the SUV. Photo Gallery

A man died Sunday morning when an Amtrak passenger train struck his SUV at a private-driveway crossing in Vancouver’s Old Evergreen Highway neighborhood.

Emergency crews were dispatched at 11 a.m. to the crash, which occurred on a private driveway just across from the Columbia Springs Environmental Education Center in the 12200 block of Southeast Evergreen Highway. The man was dead when officials arrived on the scene, Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp said.

The man’s name was not released Sunday. He was driving a Cadillac Escalade and was the only person in the vehicle at the time of the crash, said Gus Melonas, a spokesman for BNSF Railway.

No Amtrak passengers or crew members were injured in the collision, Amtrak spokesman Craig Schulz said. Train 27, the Empire Builder, was on its way from Spokane to Portland at the time of the crash. It continued on to Portland after remaining at the scene for a couple of hours while officials investigated the incident, Schulz said.

The railroad crossing over the private driveway is marked with stop signs and railroad-crossing warning signs, though it does not have the drop-down barrier common at railway crossings on public roads, officials said. From Evergreen Highway, the driveway leads south to a residence near the Columbia River, just east of Interstate 205.

The Vancouver Police Department’s traffic unit, as well as BNSF police, are investigating the collision, officials said. Evergreen Highway and the railway were closed near the scene of the crash for a few hours while investigators worked.

The collision occurred on BNSF’s main line, which serves an average of 35 to 40 trains a day, Melonas said.

Four freight trains were stopped near the scene Sunday afternoon as they waited for investigators to clear the area, Melonas said. The line reopened at 3:35 p.m., he said.

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Columbian Assistant Metro Editor