TRAX train collides with car, two dead, others injured

Published March 12, 2010 By: Aaron Vaughn, Fox 13 News   SALT LAKE CITY – Two people died after a TRAX train hit a car on 4115 South and 200 West. A southbound train speeding at about 55 miles per hour slammed into a car and killed two of the four people inside. The driver and the passenger behind him died, while two others were hospitalized Thursday night. Police say the driver tried to cross the tracks when the crossing arms were down.   Police later tell FOX 13 that the group were young adults and were on their way to a work training meeting for KFC.   19-year-old Alex Amundson was driving the car and tried to go around the gate. Police say that mistake took the lives of Amundson and backseat passenger, 18-year-old Donald Collison. The other two passengers, 17-year-old Christina Velasquez and 19-year-old Jeremy Wright were taken to the hospital.   “It’s relatively easy to get around that arm. All you have to do is make a left hand turn to do an “S” through those arms to get across,” says Unified Police Lt. Don Hutson.   The train collided and pushed the car 300 feet down the tracks according to police. Heavy rescue and ambulances were alerted to the scene at about 7:30 p.m.