Authorities have cited the driver of a pickup truck that was south of Glenwood Springs on Tuesday afternoon.
Ever Vega Vega, 40, of Glenwood Springs, is accused of failing to obey a railroad crossing and not having proof of insurance, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
Trooper Nate Reid, a State Patrol spokesman, said Vega Vega had minor injuries after the collision and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
“He was crossing the tracks,” Reid said. “There was not a crossing arm.”
Vega Vega’s Dodge 3500 pickup was struck about 2 p.m. as it obstructed the train’s tracks, officials said.
None of the 191 passengers aboard the westbound train was hurt. The train had just left the Glenwood Springs station when the collision happened.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the passengers remained on the train while authorities investigated the collision.
“We were just sitting there talking, and then we heard the train toot its horn and felt a jolt, and all of a sudden we saw a bunch of dirt flying in the air and the brakes went on and we stopped fairly quickly,” Lauri Cannon, from Syracuse, Utah, . “Everybody was very calm. They went on the intercom and said they had an incident on the track.”
The California Zephyr travels from Chicago to San Francisco and makes stops in Fort Morgan, Denver, Granby, Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs.
