UPDATE: Victims killed in Brentwood Amtrak train crash were heading to vineyard fundraiser
BRENTWOOD CBS SF/AP) -- An Amtrak train running through unincorporated Brentwood smashed into a car containing five people Sunday afternoon at a private crossing with no gates, killing three and leaving an adult and a child hospitalized with "major injuries.
East Contra Costa County Fire Protection District public information officer Steve Aubert said the call came in at 1:01 p.m. The tracks are owned by BNSF Railway. The collision occurred in the 3000 block of Orwood Road on a dirt road.
"It's not uncommon that we've had accidents at that crossing," Aubert said.
The train stopped shortly after the collision. None of the 85 people onboard were injured, Aubert said.
Three people were declared dead at the scene. The Contra Costa County Coroner's Office identified the victims as Julia Mondragon, 41, of Dixon; Maria Nieves, 72, of Dixon; and Mercedes Regalado, 51, of Antioch.
At least two others, including the child, suffered major injuries and were taken to John Muir Medical Center. There was no immediate word on their conditions.
The deadly crash happened about 300 feet from an outdoor fundraiser at a vineyard for the family of a Brentwood resident who died less than a week ago, said Fatima Jimenez who was attending the event.
Jimenez said she ran out of the fundraiser and found two women dead on the ground, along with a bloodied child, and helped pull a man from the wreckage.
"People fainted when they heard what was going on," Jimenez said. "It was chaotic. There are no words to describe it — I'm still in shock."
Mitch Bloomfield, who owns the Bloomfield Vineyards property where the fundraiser was held, said he installed his own signs on each side of the tracks declaring "TRAINS!!" after repeatedly asking BNSF Railway to install a railroad crossing gate with lights and signals.
Officials from the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office and the California Highway Patrol said BNSF officials are handling the investigation.
