Tragedy strikes as a father and his two grown children are hit and lose their lives in a high-speed Amtrak train accident

A family from Pennsylvania is grieving the loss of their father and his two sons after they were hit and killed by an Amtrak train. This incident has been described by the police as a ‘horrific tragedy.’

The father and his two sons were struck by the high-speed Acela train, which has the capability of reaching speeds of up to 150mph. The tragic event took place close to Bristol Station at approximately 6:10 pm. The train was en route from Boston to Richmond, Virginia.

Christopher Cramp, aged 56, along with his two sons, David aged 30, and Thomas aged 24, have been confirmed as the individuals who lost their lives in this heartbreaking accident. Their identities were shared by friends and family members on social media.

Sabrina Gartner, posted about losing her father and two brothers on Facebook, she wrote: ‘Losing the three of you is crazy. Forever loved and will be missed!’ 

They were spotted as Bristol Borough police responded to reports of people on the tracks at Beaver and Prospect streets just before 6pm. 

Police were walking up onto the rail line to remove them from the tracks when they saw all three people struck by the train, Police Chief Joe Moors said at a press conference on Thursday night. 

‘When our officers arrived, the sergeant was starting to head up to the subjects up on the railroad tracks when an Acela high-speed train traveling southbound towards Philadelphia struck all three subjects that were up on the track,’ Moors said, according to WHYY. 

Moors added that the tracks would be closed for ‘several hours’ while an investigation took place into the ‘horrific tragedy’.

‘This is a horrific tragedy,’ he added, while unable to provide further details during the active investigation. 

A friend of the family posted: ‘Can’t sleep with you on my mind bro. This don’t feel real man I just was chilling with [on] Monday.

‘Love [you] man say hi to moms for me and Brandon and Erica… Rest easy bro we all love you and will never be forgotten.’ 

‘Dave, I can’t describe you with enough words,’ another friend wrote. 

‘You will be missed for a fact. Keep ya chin up and tell me about what happened when I meet you up there someday.’ 

‘Much love you were nothing but real all the time, can’t be replaced.’ 

Passengers onboard the train were moved to nearby train stations, either north to Tullytown or south to Croydon, according to police.

One passenger, Shauna Hailey, told ABC 6: ‘All of a sudden, the train came to a staggering stop, and you knew something was wrong.’ 

‘I think everyone on the train is just in shock as to this actually happened. You hear about these things happening, but you don’t really expect to be on the train when it happens,’ she added. 

Hailey praised the train crew’s response, but said she was most concerned about those affected by the victims’ death. 

‘This is not an easy thing. I feel horrible for the families involved, for the Amtrak employees,’ she said. 

‘I do hope that the engineer, who is in charge of the train, gets all the help they may need.’

None of the 236 passengers or crew members on board the train were injured, according to a statement from Amtrak spokesperson Beth Toll. 

Toll furthered that train service has resumed, and Amtrak Police is leading the investigation.

Currently, it remains unclear why the family of three were on the train tracks.