Train hits van in Colorado killing 5, including 3 children

LAS ANIMAS COUNTY, Colo. – Authorities are investigating after an Amtrak train collided with a van killing five people, including three children, in Colorado on Sunday morning.

The Colorado State Patrol released a statement saying a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country failed to yield right of way to the train and was struck at 9:45 a.m. just outside Trinidad. The van’s driver and four of the passengers were killed.

The TV station Denver7 reports (http://bit.ly/28Wts7D ) that a Colorado State Trooper says a girl in the van was flown to Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, with serious injuries.

Authorities are not releasing the names of the occupants until after next of kin has been notified.

An Amtrak spokeswoman tells the station that more than 280 passengers were on board at the time of the crash and remain stranded in the area. No one on the train was injured.

She says the train involved was the Southwest Chief, which travels between Chicago and Los Angeles.

Authorities are investigating but neither alcohol nor drug use is suspected.