The minivan was in the path of an oncoming train. There were three people inside the van and they were able to get out and run off the tracks. But debris from the collision hit a male passenger and he was taken to Mercy Medical Center where he died from his injuries.
CHP is trying to figure out how the van ended up in the tracks. "That is still under investigation but it appears that the minivan got stuck and subsequently the railroad crossings arms started to come down," Gerardo Serrato with the California Highway Patrol said.
There were more than 60 passengers and personnel onboard the Amtrak train, none of them were injured.
