Mother and child killed when Amtrak train strikes vehicle ID'd

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A 30-year-old mother from Oakland and her 3-year-old daughter were killed in a collision between an Amtrak train and a vehicle in San Leandro Tuesday afternoon. 

Alameda County Fire and Paramedics Plus personnel responded and pronounced the mother, Vanessa Henriquez and her 3-year-old daughter, Saidy, both of Oakland, deceased at the scene.

Robert McManus with San Leandro police said the collision occurred on the railroad tracks in the area of Washington Avenue and Chapman Road.

A witness told KTVU that the black Toyota Rav 4 SUV was stopped on the tracks when the train hit it. 

Firefighters responded at 1:19 p.m. to reports that a woman and child were killed in a collision on the railroad tracks in the area of Washington Avenue and Chapman Road, fire spokeswoman Aisha Knowles said.

Responding officers found the Amtrak train stopped on the tracks, approximately ¼ mile north of Chapman Rd., with the SUV trapped underneath its front rail car.  Officers attempted life-saving measures on the mother and her child, but were unsuccessful.  

Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said the train involved was Capitol Corridor Train No. 532 that was headed from San Jose to the Sacramento area.

Graham said 39 people were on the train at the time and were uninjured. They were being taken to a bus to a nearby station this afternoon, she said.

Graham said she did not immediately have any information about what led up to the collision, but noted that trains going through that area in San Leandro have a maximum speed of 79 mph.

Washington Avenue was closed in the area following the collision, but reopened as of 3 p.m., San Leandro police. 

Henriquez leaves behind a husband who is Saidy's father, and a son who is in the third grade. Relatives weren't sure if the son is 8 or 9 years old.

It's a very tough time. She was a very loving mother very responsible, always with her children," said Evelyn Henriquez, the victim's cousin. 

The family said Vanessa was probably tending to her family as she always did as a devoted stay at home mother of two. 

"She was running daily errands, things that she did daily as a mother; picking up groceries, dropping off her son," said Mauro Henriquez, the victim's cousin. She loved just to be with her family. This could have happened to anyone, but unfortunately it was us." 

Relatives say Vanessa was planning a trip to Hawaii with her family next month. Now her family will be  planning a funeral for her and her daughter.