4 Die in Washington State Train-Car Wreck

CASTLE ROCK, Wash. – An Amtrak train collided Monday afternoon with a sedan, killing the four people in the car, a railroad official said.

No one aboard the train was injured, Melonas said. The 14-car train, en route from Seattle to Portland, Ore., was carrying 123 passengers.

The rail crossing was marked by stop signs, said BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas. The engineer tried to brake and sounded the whistle.

Railroad and local officials were investigating. A call to the Cowlitz County sheriff’s office was not immediately returned.

The accident shut down BNSF’s double main line, which carries 60 trains daily between Seattle and Portland, Melonas said.

One person was found dead in the car, and it appeared that three people were ejected from it, Melonas said.

Killed were an adult woman driver, a 17-year-old woman, and two men ages 18 and 19, he said.

Amtrak passengers were to be picked up by the first train to come through once the line was able to reopen, Melonas said.

Castle Rock is in southwestern Washington about 50 miles north of Portland.