NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. — An eyewitness to the deadly crash involving an Amtrak passenger train and a pickup truck Friday night says the description of the incident makes it sound like it was 10 minutes.
"But it wasn't, it happened fast," said Chrissy Galla Reid.
Reid says the pickup truck, which was driving northbound on River Road in North Tonawanda tried turning right on to Felton Street just before 8 p.m.
Reid was stopped at a red light on River Road, driving southbound toward her home in Kenmore.
According to Reid, a separate incident on Felton Street caused to pickup truck to momentarily pause on the railroad tracks.
She said a North Tonawanda police vehicle was parked on the side of Felton Street close to the rail road track swing arm, facing east towards Oliver Street. In front of the police cruiser was a disable vehicle, and on the other side of Felton Street was a tow truck. The tow truck was facing west toward the Niagara River.
Reid says it's possible the pickup truck that was hit by the Amtrak train paused on the tracks because it either couldn't get through, or wasn't sure if they should try to drive through.
"They pulled pretty decently close to where that emergency vehicle was," Reid said. "And I thought, 'Why would anybody pull and sit on the railroad tracks?' "
Seconds later, Reid began to panic.
"All of a sudden, I hear the train horn," Reid said.
The swing arms began to lower, according to Reid, and the pickup truck became boxed-in between them.
She says the pickup truck tried reversing off of the tracks but couldn't.
"I was screaming, 'Move! Oh my God, move!" Reid recalled.
The truck was unable to move out of the way of the Amtrak train.
"It just folded the truck around the front of the train," Reid said.
Three people inside the truck were killed, a 69-year-old man, 66-year-old woman, and 6-year-old boy.
North Tonawanda Police have not released the names of the victims.
Amtrak says 21 people were on board the Niagara Falls bound train, and none of them were injured.
A spokesperson for Amtrak says they are working with North Tonawanda Police as the investigation continues.
CSX, owner of the actual rail line, was on scene Saturday morning checking the swing arms and ensuring they operated properly. Crews conducted several successful tests.
2 On Your Side reached out to North Tonawanda Police, and the Mayor's office multiple times on Saturday for more information about the crash. Mayor Austin Tylec said the entire North Tonawanda Police detective's department was working on gathering facts before they would share additional information.
Tylec did say there will be a news conference on Sunday where city officials will discuss the deadly crash.