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Amtrak Train Strikes Toddler Crossing Tracks
A 2-year-old boy was killed after he was struck by an Amtrak train while he crossed railroad tracks. Police interviewed the babysitter who allowed the boy to cross the tracks just as the train was approaching.
San Jose Police are still not sure if they will charge the girl on charges ranging from involuntary manslaughter to child endangerment.
The accident occurred at about 11 a.m. on Monday at Blossom Hill Road and Monterey Highway, according to a spokesman from the San Jose Police Department.
According to her statement, she had helped the boy and two other children cross the tracks at an undesignated railroad crossing. The girl was not the family's usual babysitter.
The girl had helped the two-year old and his 4-year-old brother across the tracks, before going back across the tracks to retrieve a stroller which contained her own child.
As the girl crossed back over the tracks, the two-year old tried to follow her but walked directly into the path of the train.
None of the other children were injured in the accident, but the woman is facing charges in connection with the boy's death.
The mother was quoted as saying that she did not know that the woman was taking care of her children that morning. She said that another sitter was supposed to be taking care of them.
The regular babysitter had left the children with a friend of hers, and had called the mother to tell her she was leaving.
The name of the substitute babysitter has not been released. Police are still trying to determine if they will arrest her and press charges against her.
According to a spokesman from Amtrak, the Coast Starlight train was traveling as fast as 79 miles per hour when it struck the child. It had 224 passengers aboard bound for Los Angeles from Seattle.
The train was delayed for several hours while police investigated the incident.