Upgrades were planned at RR crossing where 5 died
DENVER — Improvements had already been scheduled at the railroad crossing where five family members died Sunday morning when they were hit by a train on their way to church.
The sole survivor — Heidi Miller, 4 — was airlifted to the Children’s Hospital Colorado where she was in stable condition, according to family members.
Colorado State Patrol says an early investigation has revealed the family’s minivan failed to yield to the Amtrak train that hit them.
The 2005 Chrysler Town & Country had been headed northbound on CR 32 in a rural area near Trinidad when it collided with the train, which pushed it westbound on the tracks until it was able to stop.
The crossing was marked with signs, but did not have gates to stop vehicles.
The Colorado Department of Transportation said the crossing had been identified back in late 2013 as part of a railroad improvement project to receive flashers, gates and a warning system.
The Denver Post reported the crossing had been the site of at least six crashes, one of them fatal, since 1986.
CDOT said a contract has been signed, and now Las Animas County is working on signing off on its part. BNSF Railway will be responsible for installing the improvements.
The project, which had been approved before the deadly accident, will cost around $270,000. It’s part of the Railway-Highways Crossing Program, which has an annual budget of about $3 million in Colorado.
The two parents who died in Sunday morning’s crash have been identified as 32-year-old Stephen Miller and 33-year-old Christine Miller of Trinidad. Their three daughters — Abigail, 6, Kathryn, 2, and Ellianna, 8 months — also died.
Family members said the six were on their way to church when their vehicle was struck by the train.
A GoFundMe page had raised $40,200 for the surviving child by 10 p.m. ET Monday.
An Amtrak spokesperson said there were 286 passengers aboard at the time. No passengers or crew were hurt.
The train, which was traveling from Chicago toward Los Angeles on the Southwest Chief Line, was held at the location for hours, but continued on its way Sunday evening.
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