HARRISBURG, S.D. (AP) — Two people have died and a third is seriously injured after a pickup truck collided with a train near Harrisburg, the South Dakota State Patrol said Thursday.
The crash happened before 5 p.m. Wednesday about one mile south of Harrisburg. The state patrol said preliminary information indicates that the driver of the pickup was heading west when he did not yield at a railroad crossing and collided with a southbound train.
Two passengers in the truck — a 45-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl — died at the scene. The 44-year-old man who was driving the pickup suffered life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to a Sioux Falls hospital.
The state patrol says the driver of the pickup truck may face criminal charges. Authorities are also investigating whether the people in the truck were using seatbelts.
The train operator was not injured.