The State : 2 Die, 3 Hurt When Train Rams Into Car

An Amtrak passenger train that originated in Los Angeles and was bound for Portland slammed into a car at a rail crossing in Richmond, killing two adults and seriously injuring three small children. Police said the driver, Southone Nomprasuet, 33, ignored blinking crossing lights shortly before the train, which was traveling about 50 m.p.h. struck the auto, driving it 200 feet down the track. Nomprasuet and his wife, La, 31, who were sitting in the front seat of the car, died instantly. Their children were in the back seat and had to be pried from the wreckage. The oldest daughter, Khan, 6, was hospitalized at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek, while Chanamone, 5, was recovering at the same facility from a broken leg. A boy, Tony, 2, was released to relatives after being treated for abrasions. Police said the family lived in Richmond, and had immigrated from Laos in 1981. None of the 300 passengers aboard the train was injured.