The Region : Three Die as Freight Train Strikes Van

Three men died and two others were critically injured when their van was struck by a Southern Pacific freight train at a railroad crossing in El Monte. Police said the driver apparently went around a lowered barrier. The engine of the eight-car train pushed the van about a quarter of a mile down the tracks from the crossing at Arden Drive before it was able to stop, an El Monte Fire Department spokesman said. The surviving victims were taken to hospitals in Arcadia and West Covina. The names of the victims were not immediately released.