An Amtrak passenger train waits on the tracks in Camas after a collision with a vehicle near Southwest Viola Street on Tuesday morning. One person was killed in the incident and one person was taken to the hospital. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
A Vancouver woman was killed and her 14-year-old son was injured Tuesday morning when a passenger train struck a car at a private rail crossing in Camas.
The crash occurred about 10:30 a.m. at the private crossing on Southwest Viola Street between Southwest Fifth and Sixth avenues, according to the Camas Police Department.
Maria G. Gonzalez Torres, 34, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her son, a passenger, was transported to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, the police said.
The car was traveling south on Southwest Viola Street when the driver ran a stop sign at the railroad crossing and collided with the westbound train, said Officer Debrah Riedl, department spokeswoman.
The Amtrak train had 75 passengers and five crew members aboard, she said, and none was hurt.
BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas said officials from BNSF and Amtrak responded to the scene, and that Amtrak is leading the investigation.
A tow truck removed the struck vehicle. BNSF crews inspected the tracks and found no damage, resuming train operations through the area around 1:30 p.m., Melonas said. About 40 trains use the line on a daily basis, he said.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office and BNSF staff were also investigating, the Camas police said.
Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said the train was an Amtrak Empire Builder heading to Portland from Chicago.
Track speed in that area is 70 mph, although Graham didn’t know how fast the train was going at the time of the collision.
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