TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) " A train has struck a mother and son walking along the tracks during a storm near Truckee, Calif., killing one and severely injuring the other.
Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal says 59-year-old Sydney Parks of Petaluma, Calif., was pronounced dead at the scene Thursday, while her 22-year-old son, Alan Young of Davis, Calif., was sent to a Truckee hospital with severe injuries.
According to witnesses, the two thought they were hiking on a trail when a Union Pacific Railroad train plowing snow off the tracks approached them.
Royal says the train sounded its whistle and initiated an emergency stop, but the two mistakenly moved into the train's path during whiteout conditions and poor visibility.
An investigation into the 3:30 p.m. accident is under way by the National Transportation Safety Board.