Metrolink, Cars Collide; 6 Hospitalized
Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 | Updated 3:02 PM PST
Six people were hospitalized Wednesday -- including a critically injured baby -- after a Metrolink commuter train slammed into a truck that had been knocked onto the tracks in a collision with a car whose driver had pulled over to let an ambulance pass, authorities said.
The initial crash occurred around 7 a.m. in the 9800 block of North San Fernando Road near Branford Street, said Officer Cleon Joseph of the Los Angeles Police Department.
"The driver of the white Camry pulled over for the ambulance, like she was supposed to, then a Dodge pick-up truck drove up and hit that vehicle," Joseph said. "The Camry went off into an embankment, and the pick-up truck went over the embankment and landed on the train trail."
Joseph said the Metrolink train then hit the truck, sending it into the embankment where it overturned.
Two patients were listed in critical condition -- the driver of the pick- up truck, a man in his 40s, and an infant who had been strapped into a car seat in the Camry, authorities said.
The baby's mother and her boyfriend were taken to hospitals in "stable but guarded condition," Joseph said.
Of the 38 people aboard the train, eight complained of injuries and two of them were transported to hospitals with minor injuries, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.
A Metrolink spokeswoman said a total of eight people on the train had minor injuries, including the two who were hospitalized.
Eight Fire Department rescue crews fanned out throughout the train, checking passengers, Humphrey said.
The injured baby was transported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills. Hospital officials then requested that a Fire Department helicopter airlift the infant to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.
The crash involved Metrolink's Antelope Valley train number 201, which departed from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles at 6:35 a.m., said Metrolink spokeswoman Angie Starr. The train, which remained upright, consisted of the locomotive and three passenger cars.
The train was on its way to the Sylmar station when the collision occurred, according to Starr, who said one of the two vehicles that collided with each other was knocked into the train's path.
A Metrolink investigation of the crash was under way, Starr said. She said Metrolink is required to notify the Federal Railroad Administration and the California Public Utilities Commission, and those agencies can launch inquiries at their discretion.
The Valley Traffic Division of the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating the traffic collision that preceded the train crash.
"In the wake of this tragedy, it is important we allow the ongoing investigation to reach its course to assure these accidents do not happen again," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. "On behalf of Los Angeles, I want to extend our hearts and prayers to the victims."
Previous Metrolink crashes have been blamed on operator error, but there were no immediate indications that was the case Wednesday morning. Reports from the scene said the engineer slammed on his brakes, likely restricting the number of injuries.
