Two boys who died at train crossing identified

DURHAM -- The two boys who died Wednesday when their Ford Explorer was hit by an Amtrak train have been identified.

The impact threw Calvin Brandon, 9, and Hasan Bingham, 6, both of Durham, from the vehicle. They were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the vehicle, Deborah Peaks Bingham, was taken to Duke Hospital for treatment.

State officials have been trying to secure funding to build a railroad overpass or an underpass at the intersection where the accident happened.

A westbound Amtrak passenger train struck the SUV at 5:19 p.m. near the intersection of Ellis Road and Angier Avenue, a rail crossing with a history of accidents. Durham police said the vehicle was sitting on the train tracks, apparently blocked by traffic, when the train warning arms came down.

No charges have been filed at this time and the accident remains under investigation, police said this morning.

State transportation officials have applied for a $13.5million federal grant to build a bridge to replace that crossing so that cars will either go above or below the trains. Still awaiting word on the grant, state officials said they'll look at the crossing to see what changes need to be made before then.

"This is a tragedy," said Paul Worley, director of engineering and safety for the state Department of Transportation's rail division. "We will look at that intersection to see what improvements we can make."

Worley said the state applied for the grant for the bridge as part of a $5 billion federal stimulus program for railroad projects. He said the state hopes to hear back by early next year.

Worley said officials want to eliminate the crossing at that location for several reasons, including a 2001 fatal collision in which a passenger of a car was killed when the driver tried to drive around the closing gates and was hit by an Amtrak train.

Worley said that federal records show 10 accidents there since 1975.

After the 2001 accident, he said, an improved gate was installed in 2004.

Even with the improvements over the years, Joan McLaw horn said, "It's a bad intersection." The Durham resident drove past the crash scene Wednesday.

On Wednesday, 129 passengers on the Amtrak "Carolinian" train were heading toward Charlotte when the train suddenly came to a stop just short of the Durham station.

"We didn't feel anything," said Sheila Moore, 52, of McLeansville, who was riding the train to Burlington. "There wasn't even a jolt."

Moore said the train crew told passengers that there had been an accident but that no one in the vehicle was injured. She was shocked to hear that two children had been killed.

Police said no one on the train was injured.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the train's crew was replaced for the remainder of the trip for compassionate reasons. He said there was no indication that the railroad signals or train didn't act properly.

"It's important for [vehicle] drivers to understand that they have to wait until it's clear to cross," Magliari said.

According to Operation Lifesaver, 69 railroad crossing collisions occurred in the state in 2008, causing eight fatalities.