In brief: Questions remain in SUV-train collision

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Investigators on Sunday were trying to determine what motivated the driver of a sport utility vehicle to ignore a downed crossing arm and flashing lights and pull the vehicle into the path of an oncoming commuter train in Sacramento.

Three died after the Saturday afternoon collision south of downtown, including a 21-month-old boy.

One of the four people inside the Nissan Pathfinder remained in the hospital Sunday at the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where she was being treated for serious injuries.

Authorities also were trying to sort out the relationships of those involved and were not releasing their identifications.

In addition to the toddler, the dead included a 25-year-old woman and a 62-year-old man, who was ejected from the Pathfinder when it was struck by the light rail train shortly after 4 p.m. The impact pushed the SUV about 30 yards down the track and flipped it.

Officer Laura Peck, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento Police Department, said the woman taken to the hospital was the man’s wife.

Police respond to robbery, find five dead

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Police investigating a possible robbery at a Birmingham home early Sunday instead found five people dead inside, authorities said.

Birmingham Police Sgt. Johnny Williams said officers arrived at the house around 3:30 a.m. Sunday after getting a call that a robbery was in progress and soon discovered the five victims. He told reporters that investigators are interviewing potential witnesses but so far have made no arrests.

The victims’ identities and the causes of death were not immediately released.

Family identifies officer killed by police

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Family members have identified a California officer killed by fellow police, and they’re asking why the attempted arrest that led to his death had to take place while he was on duty.

His father and sister told KCOY-TV in Santa Maria Sunday that the officer killed was 29-year-old Albert Covarrubias Jr. Police are withholding the name of the officer, but say he had to be arrested immediately on suspicion of illegal sex with a minor early Saturday.

Police say Covarrubias resisted arrest and fired his gun before another officer fatally shot him at a DUI checkpoint where he had been working.

Site gives Vassar applicants false hope

NEW YORK – Dozens of applicants to Vassar College were mistakenly told they had gotten into the school when they checked a website that had been set up for students applying for early decisions.

The Poughkeepsie school said 76 students accessed the site after 4 p.m. Friday and saw letters saying they had been accepted when in fact they had not been.

The school said it fixed the mistaken information by 4:30 p.m. and informed all the impacted applicants of the mistake by Friday evening. Another 46 students who logged on had been correctly told they were accepted.