Elderly Kansas City couple killed in train crash driving home from Thanksgiving dinner. Miami County investigators seek to determine what led to fatal collision.
Define the meaning of life? An elderly couple driving home from Thanksgiving dinner were killed when a freight train crashed into their vehicle, killing them.
The un-named couple were driving home circa 6.30pm in rural Kansas, Thursday night after attending their family’s Thanksgiving dinner, when they were struck by a slow-moving freight train in Miami County.
The couple’s vehicle was pushed some quarter of a mile down the tracks while the train, a Union Pacific freight train tried to stop. At some point, the vehicle caught fire 41 Action News reported.
The elderly victims, hailing from Kansas City metro area, had been on their way home from Thanksgiving dinner when the accident happened. Their adult son reportedly showed up at the scene after the freak accident.
‘This is an emotional call for anybody involved in this,’ said Capt. Matthew Kelly with the Miami County Sheriff’s Office said, according to KCTV. ‘Not just for the family but also for us on scene. Nobody wants to go to these calls. These are very traumatic for anybody involved. Anybody that has anything to do with this. I think it makes it even more traumatic on a holiday like this.’
How did crash happen?
He said his department has reached out to the victim’s family to offer any assistance.
Not immediately clear is how or why the elderly couple’s vehicle came to be on the tracks, whether it was moving across the tracks or had come to a stand-still along the tracks.
Officials said at the time of impact, a fire also broke out on the freight train’s engine, with no individuals hurt on board the train.
The investigation — which will include checking whether the crossing’s railways and lights were functioning properly — is ongoing, officials said.
