Train kills 3 people near Philadelphia

MORRISVILLE, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- A high-speed Amtrak train hit and killed three people trespassing on railroad tracks just north of Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

The Associated Press reported that the victims were teen-agers -- males ages 14, 15 and 19. The AP also reported that the train was traveling at 100 mph.

Two other 14-year-olds, a boy and a girl, were in a group on the tracks but got away, the AP reported.

The train was an Acela Express, which can reach speeds of 150 mph, said Amtrak spokeswoman Karen Dunn. The accident took place about 3:45 p.m., she said.

No one was injured aboard the train, which left Boston, Massachusetts, at 11 a.m. and was en route to Washington. The accident occurred in Bucks County, about 10 minutes north of the Philadelphia station, she said.

The train's speed, which is recorded by a device similar to a "black box" on planes, will be part of the investigation, Dunn said.

"It was not 150 miles per hour. We don't reach those speeds in those areas," she said.

Whatever speed the train was traveling is irrelevant, because even a train traveling at 30 mph can kill, she said.

"The important thing to get out there is there is absolutely no reason whatsoever for anyone ever to be on railroad tracks," Dunn said.

"Tonight is clear evidence what can happen if you do. It's a tragedy, but it was an avoidable tragedy, and it just makes me sick."