John Pacenti, Jodie Wagner and Julius Whigham II | Palm Beach Post

The crossing in a swampy area had no gate

No one on the Amtrak train was injured

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A woman and her two grandchildren on their way to a Boy Scouts camping trip died Saturday when their SUV was struck by an Amtrak train at the entrance of a wildlife management area in Florida.

The victims were identified by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday morning as Valery Jo Rintamaki, 58, of West Palm Beach and Trystan Prestano, 10, and Skylar Prestano, 8, of Wellington.

The railroad crossing at the entrance of the Corbett Wildlife Management Area in suburban Jupiter had no gate, and the tracks were just about 25 yards from the turn off the highway. There was a yield sign and two railroad markers, but a driver entering the wildlife area was shielded from oncoming trains by brush.

Photos from the scene: Train collides with SUV in Florida

Rintamaki, driving a Subaru Outback, was traveling west after turning left from the highway, then slowed as she began crossing the railroad tracks, the sheriff's office said. She failed to yield for the westbound train, which struck the left side of the SUV.

Camping gear was strewn at the site, along with the Subaru’s bumpers.

The northbound train was traveling from Miami to New York and was carrying 200 passengers. The impact of the crash pushed the SUV about a half-mile before it came to rest, a mass of twisted wreckage.

Joe Forzano, USA TODAY NETWORK

“It sounded like a shotgun going off,” said Earl Megonigal, a check station operator at the wildlife management area. “Then we heard the train stopping and ran up there and saw all the car parts.”

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue said crews responded at about 2 p.m. There were no reports of injuries to any of the Amtrak’s passengers and crew, said Capt. Albert Borroto, spokesman for Palm Beach Fire Rescue.

A special operations unit was called in to extract one of the bodies from the Subaru, and crews began removing the vehicle shortly before 7 p.m.

After the car was detached from the front of the train, crews were seen making repairs with a welding torch so the train could continue its trip.

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The day in pictures

The passenger cars were silhouetted against the swampland, and all passengers remained aboard. According to a tweet from Amtrak, the train was back on the move shortly after 8 p.m. and “operating approximately 6 hours late.”

Megonigal said previous crashes involving trains at the Corbett crossing have prompted calls for improved safety measures.