One dead in Amtrak train, car collision

HARTFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - A 19-year-old Coloma man died after an Amtrak train hit his car Tuesday night.

The crash happened just after 9 p.m. on 52nd Ave. just east of County Rd. 687 in Hartford Township.

According to the Van Buren County Sheriff's Department 19-year-old Zachariah Zellmer had just turned east on 52nd Ave. when his car went onto the tracks and was hit by the train. Zellmer died on the scene.

Passengers on the train told 24-Hour News 8 an Amtrak employee came over the intercom and told them the car had tried to go around the rail road crossing guards when it was hit.

Van Buren County Sheriff's Department said both the train and the railroad crossing had working lights and bells. The crossing guards were also working at the time of the crash.

Seventy two people were on board the Grand Rapids bound train, that had left Chicago earlier Tuesday night.

The train had stops left in Bangor and Holland before reaching its destination in Grand Rapids.

Passengers were allowed off the train while they waited for more than three hours for buses to arrive to take them to their destinations. Two buses were brought in, one to take passengers to Bangor and Holland, another to bring passengers to Grand Rapids. The second bus arrived in Grand Rapids shortly before 2:30 Wednesday morning.

Amtrak also gave passengers water and snacks during the delay. Many passengers told 24-Hour News 8 Amtrak was extremely helpful by providing up to date information about what was going on, and how the passengers would reach their destination cities.

Seneca Rankin was just five rows back from the front of the first car when the collision happened.

"The whole train kind of shook back and fourth and rattled. And then we heard the screech from the breaks, and immediately we could smell the gasoline, the oil, and the burning rubber. Then everything stopped just dead in its tracks, it was an immediate eruption of noise from the passengers, no one knew what was going on" said Rankin.

Passenger Wanda Richard said she was asleep when the crash happened, "I woke up and I could feel the train breaking really really hard. And then we could smell gasoline in the cabin, and I was like what is going on."

Ron and Julie Holtrop were heading to Holland. They said they have been through something similar before. Last year the couple were on an Amtrak train from Chicago to Grand Rapids when it hit a car.

Before getting off their bus in Holland, passengers paused for a moment of silence for Zellmer and his family.