An Auburn man remains in critical condition after three people were killed Wednesday afternoon when their van was struck by a freight train at a Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail yard in south Kelso.
Authorities identified Steven Dean Sebastian, 60, of Castle Rock, as the driver of a shuttle vehicle involved in the collision. Two other BNSF employees who died at the Talley Way crossing were 58-year-old veteran conductor Tom Kenny of Shoreline and 28-year-old conductor trainee Christopher J. Loehr, who recently moved to Seattle from Vancouver, said a railroad spokesman.
Dwight Leonard Hauck, 52, of Auburn, survived and is in critical condition at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.
Sebastian was was driving the three BNSF employees to a Vancouver hotel after their shift in Longview ended, Kelso police said.
According to authorities, the van was crossing the tracks when it was struck by the freight train, which had three locomotives and was carrying 106 carloads of grain.
The private crossing has no lighted signals but is equipped with crossing and stop signs.
The train, which was hauling 106 carloads of grain and did not derail, originated in Crookston, Minn., and was bound for Seattle.
Investigators were looking for a cause of the accident.