(July 19, 2026 – Arion, Iowa)
One person was killed and several others injured in Arion, Iowa, after an early morning collision with a Union Pacific train. The motorist-train crash occurred shortly after midnight on Sunday, July 19, at approximately 12:59 a.m., at the Grace Street Crossing just off Highway 30.
The Iowa State Patrol has identified the victims as the driver, 22-year-old Christian Dimayuga of Omaha, NE; 24-year-old Sandra Factor Pano, of Omaha; a 5-year-old boy; and two other adults, a 21-year-old and a 27-year-old. The driver and four passengers were traveling over the Grace St. Crossing in a Jeep Grand Cherokee when they were struck by the Union Pacific train. Their vehicle came to a stop in a ditch situated between the tracks and the nearby highway.
All five were transported to Crawford County Memorial Hospital in Denison, IA. Once there, Sandra Factor Pano passed away as a result of her injuries. Two of the adult passengers were later life flighted to Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, and the 5-year-old boy was transported to Omaha Children’s Hospital.
The Grace St. Crossing where the tragic accident occurred is a public at-grade highway crossing owned and operated on by Union Pacific. It is multi-track and has a daily average of 39 day and night trains. It has active warning devices, including gates, lights, and bells. However, it is unknown if the active warning devices were working properly at the time of the collision. In addition, the proximity to Highway 30, on which the posted speed limit is 55 miles per hour, may pose hazards to motorists, who may be approaching the Grace St. Crossing at high speeds or may be forced to divide their attention between keeping a lookout for trains and watching or traversing the busy highway.
The collision occurred less than a week after another motorist-train crash in Iowa saw two teenage boys’ lives be narrowly saved by a heroic passerby who removed them from the wreckage just before it was engulfed in flames.
The investigation into this tragic collision continues.