A 12-year-old boy was killed after a freight train struck a sedan on a railway Wednesday afternoon in an Oakley area that was already notoriously scrutinized for its lack of traffic safety and high conjestion.
The vehicle, driven by a 19-year-old woman, was traveling westbound down East Cypress Rd. near Main St. at approximately 1 p.m. when it reached a railroad crossing and was struck in the back by an oncoming train, according to authorities.
The passenger, a male student at Delta Vista Middle School, was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was airlifted to a Walnut Creek hospital and treated for serious injuries.
Union Elementary School District Superintendent Jeff Palmquist said that crisis management team and counselors will be available to provide support for students and staff in wake of the tragedy.
An additional vehicle was struck by the car after it was hit, however officials said nobody was hurt.
"As the car went through the gates went down and its… end was still sitting in the train tracks. The train went through and then all of a sudden I just heard a big crunch and I looked over and the car flew off the road and then the tires were going and there was debris hitting my truck – and I called 9-1-1," an unidentified witness told KPIX. "It was sickening. Just scary."
The area where the incident occurred has been a constant source of "questions from the public regarding the flow of traffic" during peak hours, officials said. They noted the city has made numerous changes to address the issues, including altering road striping, signage and signal timing.
"I go stand at that track and wait for my daughter to cross because of (high conjestion in the area)," LaQuan Ashford, who has a child at Delta Vista, told the station. "There’s always a train crossing during their school time."
"There is a long line all the way across. So everyone is sitting bumper to bumper waiting to get to this light. So the train, coming at that time, anyone can get stuck on the track. Anyone, at any given time," she added.
This was the third train collision this year in East Contra Costa County and second in a week after an Amtrak train hit a big in Brentwood on August 20, resulting in minor injuries.
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