At least 10 dead in LA commuter train wreck

LA Mayor says 50 to 60 people injured in collision between freight train and Metrolink commuter train.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
train crash 224.88 ap (photo credit: )
train crash 224.88 ap
(photo credit: )
A commuter train believed to have been carrying up to 350 people during the afternoon rush collided with a freight train Friday, killing at least 10 people, injuring dozens and trapping an unknown number of others in a mangled passenger car imploded by its own engine. Firefighters extinguished a blaze under part of the wreckage and were working hours after the collision to free people from the destroyed commuter car, which was left toppled on its side with the train's engine shoved back inside it. Two other cars in the Metrolink train remained upright. The Union Pacific freight train's engine was also turned onto its side, with the rest of the train splayed out like an accordion behind it. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said at the scene there were between 10 and 15 fatalities, and 50 to 60 people injured. "This is the worst accident I've ever seen," Villaraigosa said. "Clearly the injuries are going to mount and so are the fatalities." Police Lt. John Romero said the death toll was between 10 to 20. The crash "made a terrible sound, like a bomb, a huge noise," said Julio Pedraza, 35, who lives and works at a nearby horse boarding facility. He said he saw passengers emerging from the wreckage, and he and others helped the injured, one with skin peeling off of his forehead. "They were yelling for help and crying," Pedraza said in Spanish. Firefighters treated the injured at three triage areas near the wreck, and helicopters flew in and out of a nearby landing area on medical evacuation flights. Rescuers worked atop the wreckage and through breaches in the passenger car to reach victims. Dazed and injured passengers sat on the ground and milled about on both sides of the tracks. Surgeons were sent to the scene. Dr. Stephanie Hall, chief medical officer at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, said three people in critical condition - two females and a male - were being treated at the hospital. A male passenger told KNBC-TV he boarded the train in suburban Burbank and was talking with a fellow passenger when the crash occurred. "Within an instant I was in my friend's lap. It was so quick. It was devastating," he said. The man was visibly injured, but able to walk with the aid of firefighters. The man said he was involved in a devastating 2005 commuter train crash in Glendale and was talking about it with the other passenger when Friday's crash occurred. The trains collided in the San Fernando Valley. Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell said the train left Union Station in downtown Los Angeles and was headed northwest to Moorpark. She couldn't confirm how many people were on the train, but said that in rush hours there would usually be about 350 people on board. "We don't know if we hit another train or another train hit us," Tyrrell said. Union Pacific spokeswoman Zoe Richmond said a freight train usually has a two-person crew; the condition of the crew was not known. She also said it was common in California for freight and commuter trains to share the same track. "You see it a lot in California where commuter trains share tracks with freight trains," Richmond said, adding she couldn't speculate about the cause of the crash. The federal investigation into the crash was to be headed by the National Transportation Safety Board, said Steven Kulm, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration. The FRA would conduct a review of whether any federal rail safety regulations were violated, he said. Asked about how the two trains ended up on the same track, Kulm said, "We are nowhere near having any information on that." The worst disaster in Metrolink's history occurred on Jan. 26, 2005, in suburban Glendale, when a man parked a gasoline-soaked sport utility vehicle on railroad tracks. A Metrolink train struck the SUV and derailed, striking another Metrolink train traveling the other way, killing 11 people and injuring about 180 others. Juan Alvarez was convicted this year of murder for causing the crash.