An Amtrak train collided with a minivan in Las Animas County this morning, according to the Colorado State Patrol. The driver and four passengers of the vehicle were killed, while one person was airlifted to a Denver hospital with serious injuries.
The survivor was a female and a minor, according to CSP. All occupants of the vehicle were wearing seat belts. No drug or alcohol use was suspected.
The occupants of the minivan were a family, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser page. The fundraiser aims to raise $50,000 for funeral expenses. It appears to be valid, and its organizer appears to know the family, based on social media posts by people connected to the reported victims.
We're not reporting the names of the family here, as they haven't been released by the authorities; they are named on the fundraiser page.
The minivan, a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country, drove into the path of the westbound train at about 9:45 a.m., CSP reported. The vehicle was not stopped on the track, according to CSP. No one aboard the train was injured or killed.
The Chronicle-News reported that the collision happened at a railroad crossing on County Road 75.1, near the Purgatoire River, a location shown on the map below. The crossing apparently does not have gates.
However, Colorado State Patrol reported that the collision happened on County Road 32, which crosses the rails just to the northeast.
