MONROE COUNTY, IOWA — A woman from Albia died this (Wednesday) morning when her SUV she was driving was hit by an Amtrak passenger train. The woman, 58-year-old Melinda Sue Stewart, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident happened around 10:30 a.m. on 695th Avenue, near the town of Avery. The Iowa State Patrol says Amtrak train number 142 was eastbound when it hit Stewart’s Jeep Grand Cherokee, as the vehicle crossed the tracks. The SUV was traveling south on 695th Avenue  when it was struck on the passenger side.

The Engineer/Operator of the train was identified as 49-year-old Jennifer Harvey, of Lincoln, NE.  No one on board the train was injured. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.