Patricia Dempsey, 28, of Imperial died Saturday, July 28, after the all-terrain vehicle she was riding on crossed into the path of an Amtrak passenger train in the 4100 block of Koch Road near the Mississippi River in south St. Louis County, authorities say.

Dempsey was a passenger on the ATV, which was driven by a 32-year-old St. Louis County man.

He was taken to an area hospital and is expected to live, said Rick Eckhard, spokesman for St. Louis County Police Department.

Authorities would not release the man’s name.

Another couple was riding a second ATV but it was not involved in the accident, Eckhard said.

The accident occurred about 8:10 p.m., Eckhard said.

No one on the train was injured, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.

He said the two on the ATV were trespassing on the tracks, which Amtrak owns.

“These kinds of incidents are always sad and often avoidable,” he said. “They chose to ride on the tracks.”

The train, which was headed from Chicago and St. Louis to Texas, sounded its horn and tried to brake but could not stop before striking the ATV on the track, Magliari said.

– Kim Robertson