3 Dead Following Train, Car Crash
No passengers on train injured
Mike Lorber reports above the horrific scene of a collision between a Mike Lorber reports above the horrific scene of a collision between a Chicago-bound Amtrak train and a car.
Three passengers in a car have died after the vehicle was struck by an Amtrak train in Adams Township in LaSalle County.
LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton said five people were in the vehicle when it was struck by the Amtrak train around 3 p.m near Rt. 34 and E. 23rd Road, a few miles west of Somonauk High School.
Three were pronounced dead at the scene. Two others in the car were injured.
One of the injured was taken to Valley West Hospital in Sandwich. The other was taken to Rockford by Life Flight helicopter.
The LaSalle County coroner identified two of the deceased as 82-year-old Benjamin Rasmusen and 81-year-old Marilyn Rasmusen, both of Leland, Ill. Their 9-year-old granddaughter, Elizabeth Rasmusen, was also killed.
Indiana University spokesman George Vlahakis said Tuesday that Elizabeth Rasmusen was the daughter of Indiana University economics professor Eric Rasmusen and that he was the son of Benjamin and Marilyn Rasmusen.
Two other children, ages 10 and 7, were also injured.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the vehicle was obstructing the tracks. He said there were no injuries to passengers or staff aboard the train.
The California Zephyr was headed from Chicago's Union Station to Emeryville, Calif., just outside San Francisco.
The train was delayed for seven hours, and 100 passengers bound for Omaha and points east were transferred to charter buses. The wreck also delayed four other Amtrak trains.
Last week, an Amtrak train carrying about 170 people struck a car near Detroit, killing five teens.
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Copyright Associated Press / NBC Chicago
Posted Tuesday, Jul 14, 2009 - 1:09 AM CST
