A westbound Amtrak passenger train struck the SUV at 5:19 p.m. near the intersection of Ellis Road and Angier Avenue, a rail crossing with a history of accidents. Durham police said the vehicle was sitting on the train tracks, apparently blocked by traffic, when the train warning arms came down.

The impact threw a 9-year-old boy and 6-year-old boy from the vehicle. They were pronounced dead at the scene. The female driver of the vehicle was taken to Duke University Hospital for treatment. Police have not released their identities.

State transportation officials have applied for a $13.5 million federal grant to build a bridge to replace that crossing so that cars will either go above or below the trains. Still awaiting word on the grant, state officials said they’ll look at the crossing to see what changes need to be made before then.

“This is a tragedy,” said Paul Worley, director of engineering and safety for the state Department of Transportation’s rail division. “We will look at that intersection to see what improvements we can make.”

Worley said they had applied for the grant for the bridge as part of a $5 billion federal stimulus grant for railroad projects. He said they hope to hear back by early next year whether they’ll receive the grant.

Worley said they want to eliminate the crossing at that location for several reasons, including a 2001 fatal collision in which a passenger of a car was killed when the driver tried to drive around the closing gates and was hit by an Amtrak train.

Worley said that federal records show 10 accidents at that crossing since 1975.

After that 2001 accident, he said an improved gate was placed at that crossing in 2004.

Even with the improvements over the years, Joan McLawhorn said, “It’s a bad intersection.” The Durham resident drove past the crash scene on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, 129 passengers on the Amtrak “Carolinian” train were heading toward Charlotte when they suddenly came to a stop just short of the Durham station.

“We didn’t feel anything,” said Sheila Moore, 52, of McLeansville, who was riding the train to Burlington. “There wasn’t even a jolt.”

Moore said the train crew told passengers that there had been an accident but that no one in the vehicle was injured. She was shocked to hear that two children had been killed.

Police said no one on the train was injured.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the train’s crew was replaced for the remainder of the trip for compassionate reasons. He said there was no indication that the railroad signals or train didn’t act properly.

“It’s important for [vehicle] drivers to understand that they have to wait until it’s clear to cross,” Magliari said.

According to Operation Lifesaver, there were 69 railroad crossing collisions in North Carolina in 2008 with eight fatalities.

(This item appeared Dec. 10, 2009, in the News Observer.)