North Tonawanda police investigate fatal Amtrak van crash

At a news conference at North Tonawanda City Hall Sunday, Police Chief Keith T. Glass said a Lewiston Police Department patrol car, paired with a patrol car from North Tonawanda, was conducting a traffic stop on Felton Street near River Road on the east side of the railroad tracks when the tragic incident occurred.

“This stop resulted in a vehicle being towed,” Glass said.

“This stop did not take place on the tracks, as social networks speculated. Detectives are in the process of gathering all possible camera footage, which will help determine the contributing factors to this accident,” he added.

Glass said the traffic stop was on the east side of the gates or traffic arm.

“The towed vehicle was in front of the police car,” he said.

Glass said the reason Felton Street was not closed during the traffic stop was because the stop was happening on the other side of the gate from where the van was, so there was no reason to close Felton.

He added that next week, the first responders on scene are “all going to be sitting down with counselors to try to get through this.”

“My officers and command staff, in particular, behaved professionally on the scene, but off the scene we are human beings grieving along with the rest of the community,” Glass said.

Glass did not release the names of the victims, who were described as a 69-year-old man, a 66-year-old woman and a 6-year-old boy. He said the North Tonawanda Police Department Detective Bureau will release their identities once all next of kin have been notified.

Glass, who was joined by Mayor Austin J. Tylec and city Fire Chief Joseph D. Sikora, said the vehicle involved in the crash was not the same one involved in the traffic stop. He said he did not know why the vehicle involved in the traffic stop was stopped.

He said there are no standard procedures when a traffic stop occurs near a railroad crossing.

“It’s just common sense,” Glass said. “Sometimes people stop on the train tracks and we tell them to get off the tracks. »

He said he didn’t know why the driver of the van didn’t try to go through the door.

“They were made to come loose if you walk through them,” Glass said. “If you get stuck, all I can tell you is to walk away or get out of the car.”

Glass said there should be police camera footage of the crash.

Tylec said North Tonawanda benefits from a state grant that allows the North Tonawanda Police Department to focus on crossing safety.

“While this is an incident prevention item, the city is committed to taking further action and, after discussions, we will review safety measures, such as improved signage and lighting, public awareness campaign around crossings and will call on CSX to be more efficient. a partner in our region, continuing safety inspections throughout our region and that there is a rapid response to any issues,” Tylec said.

“Our goal is to avoid similar tragedies in the future and ensure the safety of all our residents,” he added.