3 Family Members Killed by High Speed Amtrak Train in Pennsylvania: Reports

Three members of the same family have been killed after being struck by a high speed Amtrak train in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, according to reports.

Police Chief Joe Moors from the Bristol Borough Police Department said in a press conference, shared by local media outlet LevittownNow.com, that three people were killed after being hit by a high speed Amtrak traveling towards Philadelphia on Thursday, April 3.

He said the incident happened at around 5:58 p.m. after Bristol Borough officers were dispatched to the area of Beaver and Prospect Street near the train station to investigate “subjects up on the trains.”

“When our officers arrived, the sergeants were starting to head up on the railroad tracks when an Accela high-speed train traveling southbound toward Philadelphia struck all three subjects that were up on the track,” Moors said in the press conference. “No officers were injured at the time.”

According to a spokesperson for Amtrak, per NBC News, around 6:10 p.m. in Bristol, an Amtrak train, which was traveling from Boston to Richmond, Virginia, came in contact with three individuals who were on the track.

“This is a horrific tragedy,” Moors added, according to CBS News. The outlet and NBC News, citing officials, reported that the individuals were all family members.

Moors noted that the tracks were going to be closed until they had completed their investigation, which is being conducted with Amtrak Police. EMS was also at the scene.

Amtrak noted on X in posts from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. local time that several trains between New York and Philadelphia were “temporarily suspended” and then “cancelled” as a “result of municipality officials placing a hold on the tracks.”

In an update at 10:47 p.m., Amtrak said the tracks between Philadelphia and New York had been reopened, though trains would be moving a bit more slowly than usual.

“All services operating through the area will be operating at restricted speeds,” Amtrak said on X. “Trains traveling through this area may incur residual delays. Thank you for your continued patience during this time.”

Amtrak and the Bristol Borough Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

One passenger on the train, Ashley Spencer, told CBS News that they remembered hearing “the loudest screech I’ve ever heard before in my life,” when the incident happened. She added that the train sounded “like it was trying to brake and it couldn’t.”

Police said the investigation into the incident is ongoing, per the press conference.