28 Injured, 4 Critical When Metrolink Headed to LA strikes Truck and Derails

A Los Angeles-bound Metrolink train struck a truck on the tracks in Oxnard today and derailed, interrupting rail service from Ventura County and sending 28 people to hospitals, including four in critical condition, authorities said.

The crash occurred shortly before 6 a.m. just east of the Oxnard Station, near Rice Avenue and Fifth Street. Ventura County Line train 102 was en route to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles when the crash occurred, said Metrolink spokesman Jeff Lustgarten.

The four passenger cars and the locomotive -- which was at the rear, pushing the train -- derailed, according to the Oxnard Fire Department. The three forward passenger cars tipped over on their side, said Metrolink spokesman Scott Johnson.

The truck driver, who was not injured, got out of the vehicle and ran off, but was taken into custody by law enforcement officers, the fire department reported.

The single track is owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad, and shared by other rail operators, Johnson said. It could take all day to clear the scene, officials said.

Fifty-one people were assessed at the scene for possible injuries, and 28 of them were transported for hospital treatment, four of them in critical condition, the fire department reported. No fatalities were reported.

According to the fire department, trains can reach 79 mph along that stretch of track, but the engineer saw the truck and began slowing the train before impact.

The train consisted of four passenger cars and a locomotive at the rear, Johnson said. The engineer was in the first passenger car -- known as the “cab car” -- and was operating the train from there. The engineer and the conductor were among the injured, Johnson said.

The cab car, along with the third and fourth passenger cars, were newer cars, equipped with “collision energy management technology,” which is designed to “send the impact outward instead of inward and prevent crumpling,” Johnson said. The second passenger car was an older car, retrofitted to accommodate bicycles.

Johnson said the Metrolink/Amtrak “shared train” 761 from Union Station to Oxnard has been canceled for today. Rail passengers were urged to use alternate transportation.

Buses were sent to the scene to accommodate stranded rail passengers. Metrolink passengers can call (800) 371-LINK for more information, or visit the Metrolink Facebook or Twitter pages.

• City News Service
• Photo Credit: Twitter user Dan Linden ‏@DanLinden
• Get Patched in! Sign up for Patch news alerts for your town.Agoura Hills · Belmont Shore-Naples · Beverly Hills · Brentwood · Calabasas · Cerritos-Artesia · Culver City · Hermosa Beach · Hollywood · Long Beach · Malibu · Manhattan Beach · Marina Del Rey · North hollywood-Toluca Lake · Northridge-Chatsworth · Pacific Palisades · Palos Verdes · Redondo Beach · Santa Monica · Sherman Oaks · Studio City · Venice-Mar Vista · West Hollywood · Westwood-Century City · Woodland Hills

[<a href=”//storify.com/MirnaAlfonso/metrolink-train-strikes-a-big-rig-injures-28” target=”_blank”>View the story “Metrolink Train Strikes a Big Rig, Injures 28” on Storify</a>]