CHP: Pickup driver dies trying to beat train near Galt

GALT — A 68-year-old Walnut Grove man died early Friday after he tried to drive around railroad crossing gates, and a train crashed into his pickup near Galt, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The fatal crash was reported about 12:15 a.m. on Spring Street, where the wreckage was found just east of Saddle Crest Circle and west of Highway 99 in Sacramento County.

Officers arrived at the scene and found a Chevrolet 2500 pickup lodged in front of a Union Pacific train engine, according to the CHP South Sacramento Area Office.

The Walnut Grove man who was driving the pickup suffered fatal injuries in the crash, the CHP said. The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office will release the man’s name once his family has been notified.

The train conductor told investigating CHP officers that the train was heading south about 50 mph on the tracks and approaching Twin Cities Road, which is just north of where the train and pickup came to rest after the stop.

The conductor spotted the pickup heading west on Twin Cities Road and approaching the crossing gates, which were in the down position with red lights flashing, according to the CHP. He told officers that he watched as the pickup slowed down nearing the crossing as if it was about to stop.

But then the pickup’s driver suddenly accelerated and tried to go around the east side of the crossing gates to get over the railroad tracks before the train arrived, the conductor told the CHP.

The conductor said he applied the emergency brake, but the engine struck the pickup. CHP officials said the train pushed the Chevrolet over 3,000 feet until they came to a stop just south of the Spring Street crossing.

CHP investigators did not know on Friday whether alcohol or drugs were a factor in the fatal crash.

“This is a tragic reminder to never cross railroad tracks when the crossing gates are down,” CHP officials said in a Facebook post.