Thread: Driver in CA crash kills 5 likely illegal

Driver Identified In Amtrak Accident That Killed Six

May 9, 2007

MODESTO -- Authorities on Wednesday identified the driver who got stuck in the path of an Amtrak train, but said it would take up to a week to confirm the identities of the five people also killed in the wreck.

Maricruz Corral, 23, a mother from Ceres, died Tuesday afternoon after stopping the compact sport-utility vehicle she was driving on a set of tracks in Riverbank, about nine miles northeast of Modesto, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Tom Killian.

Corral's passengers included two boys in car seats, another boy estimated to be between 6 and 8 years old and a 39-year-old woman and Corral's 19 year old niece.

The coroner's office said positively identifying the victims would be an involved process because their bodies were so badly damaged and neither fingerprint nor dental records exist for them, said Deputy Royjindar Singh, a spokesman for the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.

The coroner plans to take DNA samples from the victims and try to match them with DNA from surviving relatives, which would take at least several days, Singh said.

Corral's husband, Lucio Rodriguez, said that his sons, 5-year-old Ivan and 3-year-old Anthony, were killed along with their mother. He was in the Mojave Desert at the time of the accident, and said he knew the news was bad when the CHP sent a private plane to bring him back.

"I loved them very much, and I was just going to work and I'm not going to see them again," he said in Spanish. "I miss them very much and I'm just waiting for them to come back and take me with them."

According to witnesses, Corral was trying to cross the tracks and was waiting for traffic in front of her to clear when alarm bells went off, signaling the approaching train. She tried to back up, and stopped again when the crossing arm came down and struck her front windshield, he said.

"It appears she panicked," Killian said, stressing that investigators did not think Corral planned to get hit by the train as some suicide victims have. "Probably her foot came off the brake."

The conductor told officers that the train would have missed Corral's Geo Tracker if she had stayed where she was when the crossing arm hit her vehicle. The crossing arm also bounces when it hits something and would not have prevented the vehicle from moving forward, Killian said.

"The message for the public is, when you come to a crossing, controlled or uncontrolled, do not proceed until you can safety cross the tracks," he said.

The Oakland-bound train pushed the vehicle more than 1,900 feet down the tracks. Corral's body was found on the tracks, about halfway between the crash site and where the train came to a stop. The other victims remained in the vehicle, Killian said.
http://fox40.trb.com/news/ktxl-050907am ... txl-news-1

Ceres driver, 5 passengers die after train hits SUV
Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

(05-09) 12:14 PDT RIVERBANK -- A Ceres woman and five other people, including at least three children, were killed Tuesday after their SUV got caught on the train tracks in Riverbank and the car's driver apparently panicked, police said today.

Maricruz Corral, 23, was driving five other people in her Chevrolet Tracker when eastbound traffic on Claribel Road slowed, forcing her to stop on the train tracks, said California Patrol Officer Tom Killian. According to witness statements, as an Amtrak train approached, and the warning gate lowered, Corral attempted to back up off the tracks, but one of the crossing arms hit her rear window and bounced back up, Killian said.

"There was a moment of hesitation, and then the vehicle rolled forward onto the tracks," he said. "We believe she probably panicked at that time, and her foot possibly came off the brake and she possibly rolled back (onto the tracks)."

"I know there have been some reports that this may have been a suicide," Killian added, "and it was absolutely not."

There were two young boys in car seats in the vehicle, as well as another young boy and two female passengers who may have been teenagers, Killian said.

Corral has two sons, ages 3 and 6, who were apparently in the car but have not yet been positively identified. The coroner will need to use dental records to identify the passengers, he said.

Killian said Corral's husband was out of town on business but flew back in late last night.

The train was traveling northbound at about 79 miles per hour when it hit the compact sport utility vehicle, Killian said. The car remained stuck to the front of the engine as the train rolled another 1,900 feet before coming to a stop, he added. Corral was ejected while the other five occupants, who died on impact, were found in the car, Killian said.

Killian said Claribel Road and Terminal Avenue is a fairly busy intersection in Riverbank, a town located about 10 miles northeast of Modesto.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... =printable

CHP expended money on a private plane for an illegal? (If the guy is illegal).