EATON, Colo. -- A high school student who was killed when her SUV was struck by a train at a railroad crossing in Eaton Tuesday night is the second teenager in a year to lose their life at that particular crossing.
Kennedi Ingram was a senior at Eaton High School.
Ingram died when a train crashed into her car at the railroad crossing near the intersection of 5th Street and Highway 85 just before 6 p.m. The teen was driving westbound on 5th and the train, operated by Union Pacific, was heading south at the time of the crash.
Eaton School District Superintendent Randy Miller sent the following statement to students and parents upon learning of Ingram's death:
It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that Eaton High School lost a member of our family tonight. Our hearts go out to the family of our student. I cannot begin to tell you how much we are saddened by this news. Our EHS family will be here for each other tonight and throughout the week, as well as counseling staff, members of our ministerial alliance, and North Range Behavioral Health. These resources will be here to help students, staff, and parents as long as we need. I encourage you to reach out for comfort and support during this very difficult time.
16-year-old Dallas Duran was killed by a train at that same intersection in February 2017.
The railroad crossing doesn't have any crossing gates; instead there's a stop sign and a railroad crossing sign to alert drivers of the crossing.
Town Manager Gary Carsten told Denver7 that the Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved a project to install crossing gates at the crossing over the summer. The crossing gates are scheduled for construction sometime later this year.