11-year-old killed, mom critically hurt when train hits car, California police say

An 11-year-old girl died when a train hit her mother’s car on the tracks in Redlands, California police reported.

The girl’s mother suffered critical injuries in the crash at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, Redlands police said in a news release. It’s not clear how the car ended up on the tracks.

The driver of a Metrolink train, which was traveling at 50 mph, spotted the car on the tracks at Alabama Street but could not stop before hitting it, the release said.

The collision threw the 11-year-old girl from the car, killing her, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A passenger on the train was taken to a hospital with a complaint of pain, the release said.

All safety gates and warnings were working properly at the time of the crash, police said.

Police ask anyone with information to contact Cpl. Martin Gonzalez at mgonzalez@redlandspolice.org or call Redlands Police Dispatch at 909-798-7681, ext. 1.

Redlands is a city of 73,000 people about 65 miles east of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published April 6, 2023 at 12:12 PM with the headline "11-year-old killed, mom critically hurt when train hits car, California police say."