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The minivan,
carrying six people, was traveling northbound on a county road
when the driver of the van "failed to yield right of way" to the
westbound train, the Colorado State Patrol said in a statement.
The driver of the van and four passengers were killed, including
three children under the age of 18, said State Patrol Trooper
Josh Lewis.
A girl was airlifted to a Denver-area hospital with serious
injuries, the state patrol said. No crew or passengers on the
train were injured, it said.
Amtrak said there were 286 passengers on the Chicago to Los
Angeles line. The train struck a vehicle that was on the tracks
at roughly 9:45 a.m. near Trinidad, Colorado, about four miles
(6.5 km) east of the Amtrak Trinidad station.
The train in Sunday's Colorado incident struck the right side of
the vehicle, which was not stopped on the tracks, police said.
The driver and passengers were all wearing seat belts or
restraints, they said.
Neither alcohol nor drugs were thought to have played a role in
the crash, police said.
The victims have not been publicly identified, pending the
notification of relatives.
Amtrak said some of its equipment was damaged but crews quickly
made repairs and the train resumed its journey.
(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver; Writing by Eric M.
Johnson; Editing by Sandra Maler and Paul Tait)
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