AMSTERDAM, Mo. -
Two people were killed over the weekend in a car-train collision in western Missouri's Bates County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol identified the victims as 49-year-old Mary Redmond of Linn Valley, Kan., and 43-year-old John South of Amsterdam, Mo.
They died early Saturday when the train struck their vehicle as they crossed a stretch of tracks.
"We were inside and heard the crash, it was like a big boom," said Ida Kaufman, who lives near the crossing. She says that in 30 years, she's seen cars crossing the tracks in front of a train and just miss a collision, but she says that most people stop.
"As far as what happened to these people, I don't know," said Kaufman. "The conductor says they slowed down and they didn't stop, they kept on going and the train hit them."
Police say that the Kansas City Southern train could have been traveling up to 55 miles per hour at the crossing, and they say that there was warning of an oncoming train.
"There are lights and bells, and when we arrived they were working," said Cpl. Chris Gach of the Missouri Highway Patrol.
Officials at Kansas City Southern would only say that the train crew was not injured, and that there were no hazardous materials involved in the accident.
He says that there are no crossing arms at this intersection, but that's not uncommon for a rural railroad crossing.
Cpl. Gach says that people sometimes underestimate the speed of a train, and that there's no way for the train to stop in time.
"There's just so much force there, and I don't know if people don't understand that or if that's something they overlook," said Cpl. Gach.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol identified the victims as 49-year-old Mary Redmond of Linn Valley, Kan., and 43-year-old John South of Amsterdam, Mo.
They died early Saturday when the train struck their vehicle as they crossed a stretch of tracks.
"We were inside and heard the crash, it was like a big boom," said Ida Kaufman, who lives near the crossing. She says that in 30 years, she's seen cars crossing the tracks in front of a train and just miss a collision, but she says that most people stop.
"As far as what happened to these people, I don't know," said Kaufman. "The conductor says they slowed down and they didn't stop, they kept on going and the train hit them."
Police say that the Kansas City Southern train could have been traveling up to 55 miles per hour at the crossing, and they say that there was warning of an oncoming train.
"There are lights and bells, and when we arrived they were working," said Cpl. Chris Gach of the Missouri Highway Patrol.
Officials at Kansas City Southern would only say that the train crew was not injured, and that there were no hazardous materials involved in the accident.
He says that there are no crossing arms at this intersection, but that's not uncommon for a rural railroad crossing.
Cpl. Gach says that people sometimes underestimate the speed of a train, and that there's no way for the train to stop in time.
"There's just so much force there, and I don't know if people don't understand that or if that's something they overlook," said Cpl. Gach.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
