OAKLEY, Calif. — A 12-year-old boy was killed and a 19-year-old woman was critically injured Wednesday when multiple vehicles and a freight train collided in Northern California, authorities said.
Joshua Schaefer was pronounced dead at the scene in Oakley, the boy’s mother, Melissa Schaefer, told the East Bay Times.
The 19-year-old was flown by medical helicopter to an area hospital, where she was listed in critical condition, the newspaper reported.
Update 8:40 p.m. EDT Aug. 26: According to an online fundraiser, the woman is Schaefer’s sister.
Original report: According to authorities, at about 12:53 p.m. PDT a gray Lexus SUV tried to beat the train after the railroad crossing gates were coming down, KPIX reported. The SUV was struck in the rear and was overturned, the television station reported.
Train collision update:
— City of Oakley (@CityofOakley) August 25, 2021
Shortly before 1 p.m. a vehicle which had been travelling westbound on East Cypress collided with a train. One passenger has been pronounced dead at the scene & the driver was transported for treatment.
OPD asks you to AVOID the area.
Officials said three other cars were also involved, KGO reported.
“As the car went through the gates went down and its ... end was still sitting in the train tracks,” one witness, who asked not to be identified, told KPIX. “The train went through and then all of a sudden I just heard a big crunch and I looked over and the car flew off the road and then the tires were going and there was debris hitting my truck -- and I called 911.
“It was sickening. Just scary.”
Members of the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District treated three other victims and released them at the scene, KPIX reported.
BREAKING: A collision between multiple vehicles and a freight train killed a 12-year-old boy and critically injured a 19-year-old girl Wednesday afternoon at the railroad crossing at East Cypress Road and Main Street in Oakley, authorities said. https://t.co/NiMHpNWLc9
— East Bay Times (@EastBayTimes) August 25, 2021
In a statement, Jeff Palmquist, the superintendent of the Oakley Union Elementary School District, confirmed that a Delta Vista student died in the crash.
“Our deepest sympathies are extended to the family, the Delta Vista school community, and other staff and school communities who are impacted by this tragedy,” Palmquist said. “We have readied our crisis management team, and counselors will be on campus to provide counseling and bereavement support services to our students and staff.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the Schaefer family.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for
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