The crash at 4:40 p.m. PDT Monday left half of the 2001 light blue Honda Accord in a nearby ditch and the other half about 300 feet down the tracks, The Daily News of Longview reported.

One person was found dead inside the car and three were ejected, according to a statement issued by the Cowlitz County sheriff's office.

The statement identified the dead as Donna K. Mako, 44, her 17-year-old daughter, Laura A. Mako, Ace K. Hansen, 18 and Marcus A. Cokeley, 19, all of Castle Rock.

"It's a lousy deal, I'll tell you," Sheriff William F. Mahoney said.

Deputies did not say who was driving or who remained in the car.

The rail crossing is marked by stop signs at a point where a county road ends and a private road begins about four miles south of town, BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas said.

According to the Amtrak train crew, a northbound freight had just passed and the car apparently entered the crossing as soon as that train was clear - and while the southbound passenger train was approaching on the second set of tracks, sheriff's Capt. Mark S. Nelson wrote in a news release.

The Amtrak train engineer, a 56-year-old Winlock resident, was about 50 feet away when the crew saw the car, Nelson wrote. The rail speed limit was 79 mph, but computer records will be checked to determine the train's speed at the time, he added.

The accident was being investigated by the sheriff's office and BNSF Railway, which owns the tracks, with assistance from the State Patrol and state and federal transportation agencies.

The 14-car train, carrying 123 passengers, was en route from Seattle to Portland, Ore.

No one aboard the train was injured, but there was some damage to the train and passengers had to wait several hours before boarding the next Seattle-to-Portland Amtrak, which reached the area at about 8 p.m., Melonas said.

The accident shut down BNSF's two sets of tracks that carry 60 trains daily between Seattle and Portland until 9:30 p.m., Melonas said.