Names of Three Killed by Amtrak Train Not Yet Released

By Charlie Bauder, WNEG Radio, Toccoa

Still no word on the identities of three people who died Friday night when their car was struck by an Amtrak train in Stephens County.

It happened about 9:45p Friday night when the Amtrak Crescent t-boned the vehicle on Grant Smith Road near the Summit subdivision, according to Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley.

“The train T-boned the 2008 Mazda,” said Shirley. “It was a violent crash. It carried the vehicle about 300 feet up the track. It turned over several times before it landed in a ravine upside down where it caught fire.”

Shirley saids the victims are two females and one male who all lived together in Austell, Georgia in Cobb County.  The trio were headed to Toccoa to visit friends. Their bodies were taken Friday night  to the GBI Crime Lab in Atlanta.

According to Sheriff Shirley, alcohol does not appear to have been a factor in the accident.  The train was headed into Toccoa from Gainesville.

Once it arrived in Toccoa, the train stayed at the Toccoa rail station for hours while authorities conducted their investigation.   No passengers on board the Crescent were injured.