An Amtrak train on Sunday collided with a van near Trinidad, killing five people, including three children.
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The tot miraculously survived the crash that killed the rest of her family, but suffered broken bones and a head injury.
Heidi Miller was flown to Children’s Hospital in Aurora after the crash. Keith Schlabach, Stephen Millers’ cousin, told KFOR that churchgoers knew something was wrong when the family did not show up to church. Family said she was stable Monday morning.
They told CBS: “She’s awake and she’s asking for her mother”. “We were reasonably sure because they weren’t answering their phones”.
Officials said the Miller’s minivan failed to yield right of way to the train and was hit as it attempted to cross the tracks at a railroad crossing with a history of problems. The minivan was reportedly moving at the time of the crash and did not appear to be stuck.
According to the Associated Press, the railroad crossing is marked only with signs but a proposal to add flashing lights and gates has been in the works since late 2013.
The Denver Post reports that the spokeswoman says the Southwest Chief train, which travels between Chicago and Los Angeles, resumed its route at 5 p.m.
An Amtrak passenger train headed from Chicago to Los Angeles hit the family’s mini-van as it drove across railway tracks near the town of Trinidad, which is 15 miles from the New Mexico border.
Las Animas County commissioners approved a joint application for the work with the state just two weeks ago. Passengers were stranded Sunday afternoon, although no one on the train was injured. There were 286 people on board the train. Members of the Miller family have set up a GoFundMe page for funeral costs and to support Heidi Miller.
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The passengers and crew members aboard the train were not injured.
