Two adults and an 18-month-old child were killed Saturday afternoon when a light-rail train collided with their sport-utility vehicle in south Sacramento.
A fourth person in the SUV suffered serious injuries and was taken to a local hospital, police said.
Regional Transit officials said it was possibly the worst light-rail accident in the system's 25-year history.
The train, carrying about 50 passengers, was southbound on the Meadowview line at 4:10 p.m. when it hit the SUV on 26th Avenue and pushed it 20 yards. The train stayed on the tracks, but the SUV flipped upside down, said Sgt. Andrew Pettit, Sacramento police spokesman.
"It sounded like an explosion," said Barbara Rodriguez, who was inside her house nearby when the accident occurred.
One of Rodriguez's relatives and a friend ran toward the accident and tried to help.
"They saw a baby," Rodriguez said. "They saw a lady and a gentleman. They were deceased. Another lady was still alive. They tried to cut her out
. Then the police arrived."
Seventeen passengers on the train were hurt, though most of the injuries were minor, Pettit said. Three adult passengers and three juvenile passengers were taken to UC Davis Medical Center. All were in fair condition Saturday night, said Phyllis Brown, hospital spokeswoman.
"All you heard is 'boom,' and you saw the car flip," said passenger D'Angelo Charles, 13, who was jolted by the impact into a pole inside the train. He was at UC Davis Medical Center on Saturday night receiving treatment for a sore lower back, neck and headache.
The crossing bars were down and warning lights were blinking when the driver of the SUV, a Nissan Pathfinder, steered around another car and then around the bars, said Mike Wiley, Regional Transit's general manager.
"The train ran directly into the side of the SUV," said Wiley, who said he has seen video from the crossing taken as the accident occurred. "The train operator applied the emergency brake just before impact.
"There are sound walls on their side of the tracks, so visibility is limited, and the train was traveling 50 to 55 miles per hour."
The crossing bars had been down for a while because three trains were passing by one after the other, Pettit said.
"I don't think the arms went up" as each train passed, Pettit said. "The three trains that might have been a factor."
Sound walls around the tracks made it hard for drivers to see whether a train was actually coming, Regional Transit officials and neighbors said. "You can't see there unless you are right on the tracks," said Antonio Rodriguez, Barbara's husband.
Rodriguez and his neighbors said they've noticed cars drive around the barriers several times during the last few months and worried that something might happen.
"Why would anyone with a baby in the car risk it?" asked Richard Sanchez, who lives near the crossing.
Wiley, the RT manager, said, "There is no problem with this intersection."
Trains traveling 55 mph are common "where spacing between stations is enough to attain those speeds," said Mark Lonergan, RT operations chief. "The gates are timed to block the streets at those speeds. If an operator goes slower, the gates would be down too long."
Train service south of the Sacramento City College stop was halted but likely will resume this morning, Lonergan said.
Lonergan's employees were examining the tracks and testing safety equipment Saturday night. As they worked, the crossing bar lowered repeatedly, ringing the alarm.
A few feet away, someone had placed three lighted candles.
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