Autopsy: Alcohol A Factor In Train Collision That Killed Dad, Daughter
Updated 01/23/14 - 2:31 p.m.
ROUND LAKE PARK (CBS) -- An autopsy on Thursday revealed alcohol was a factor in a crash that killed a father and a 7-year-old girl when their SUV drove through a set of railroad crossing gates, and was hit by a Metra train.
Francisco Carranza, 36, of Round Lake Beach was driving a Range Rover near the intersection of Route 134 and Porter Drive around 6 p.m. Wednesday, when he began driving over a set of Metra tracks, and was hit by a Milwaukee District/North Line train traveling at 60 mph, police said.
Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko said the gates at the crossing were active, and Carranza drove through them.
Initially, Carranza was the only known victim of the crash, but about an hour after the impact, police taking measurements at the crash site found the body of his 7-year-old daughter, Alyssa, about 50 feet from the vehicle. She was lying in a snow bank, and apparently had not been wearing a seat belt, authorities said.
According to the Lake County Coroner's office, an autopsy determined alcohol was involved, although it was not immediately clear if Carranza was legally drunk.
Both Carranza and his daughter died of multiple traumatic injuries from the crash.