The crash happened shortly before 6:00 p.m. when an Amtrak passenger train collided with a Dodge Ram pickup truck that was on the railroad tracks between the crossing arms.
According to investigators, the westbound train struck the bed of the pickup truck on the passenger side, causing the truck to spin around and end up next to the train tracks.
"We were just about two miles outside of the station here in Durham when our train struck a vehicle that was pulled across in front of us," said Sue Roth, who was on the train to Durham from Washington, D.C. "On the train itself, you could feel rapid deceleration and stop but we couldn't feel a jolt."
Train crash
Police have identified the driver of the truck as Ananias Hyman, 38, of Durham.
Police say the three occupants of the pickup truck - Ananias, his 8-year-old son Jaden, and his 2-year-old daughter Jace- were taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries.
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Ananias and Jace suffered minor injuries while the Jaden suffered critical injuries in the crash.
Durham police said that 140 passengers were on the train and were not injured.
"The delay is always a pain in the neck but the most important thing is that the people who were injured be okay so our prayers are with the family and hopefully the little boy will come through," said Roth.
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The crash remains under investigation.