No people onboard the South Shore Line were injured after a train collided with a vehicle — killing five people — in Gary.
The Gary Police Department responded to a train vs. vehicle crash around 10 p.m. June 25 to the intersection of U.S. Route 20 and Utah Street. Five people in a “severely damaged” vehicle were dead as police and fire personnel responded to the scene, Gary Police said in a June 26 press release. The victims were ejected from the car after the collision with the train, police said.
Who are the victims?
The victims were transported to Lake County Coroner’s Office and their identities — currently unconfirmed, Gary Police said — will be released after the victims’ families have been notified.
Police said no crew members or passengers onboard the South Shore Line sustained injuries. The Tribune’s reporting partners at WNDU-TV said the number 35 train was the last train to South Bend and it was delayed about half an hour by the crash.
A traffic investigator from Gary Police, in partnership with Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District Transit Police Department, is investigating the fatal crash, police said.
What we know about the crash
Gary Police said a preliminary investigation shows that the vehicle struck by the train went around an active railroad crossing.
According to WNDU, a witness told police that the crossing gate was down when the driver went around it to try and beat the train.
This article will be updated when more information is made available.
Email Tribune staff writer Camille Sarabia at csarabia@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: No injuries onboard South Shore Line in Gary train vs. car crash; investigation continues
Reporting by Camille Sarabia, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
