A train struck a car Tuesday at a railroad crossing in fog, killing five members of a family in the car and injuring three others, authorities said. The parents and three of their children were pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. The other three children were taken to hospitals. The children were all under age 9. No one in the train was injured, and the train was sent on its way, according to the Highway Patrol. The crash occurred on a rural gravel road about five miles west of Valley City, said Dolph Oldenburg, a Barnes County correctional officer. State Highway Patrolman Roger Haga said the engineer of the westbound Burlington Northern train blew the engine's whistle before crossing the intersection. But fog covered the area, and the driver of the northbound car apparently did not see nor hear the train, the patrolman said. Two children were taken to Mercy Hospital in Valley City. One child wandered away from the wreck and was found about an hour later and taken to the hospital, Haga said. Mercy Hospital spokeswoman Connie Reed said a 5-year-old girl was transferred by ambulance to a Fargo hospital where she was in critical condition Tuesday night, and two boys, ages 4 and 6, were in stable condition in the Valley City hospital. The identities of the victims were not released. No other details were available.
