San Leandro woman killed after daughter mistakenly drives into freight train’s path

A 78 year-old woman was killed by a Union Pacific freight train in San Leandro Tuesday night after her daughter mistakenly drove their car down a set of railroad tracks, police reported Wednesday.

San Leandro Police said the 56 year-old daughter got out of the car and unsuccessfully tried freeing her elderly mother from the stuck 2011 Toyota Prius before an oncoming freight train rear-ended the car at the Williams Street railroad crossing near San Leandro Blvd. at 10:10 p.m.

The train pushed the car for a quarter mile before it came to a stop, police reported. The mother, a San Leandro resident, was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the daughter and two people inside another car stopped at the crossing witnessed the crash.

An investigation by the department’s traffic division ruled the collision to be accidental.

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