(The following story by Caitlin Liu and Mitchell Landsberg was published in the January 7 online edition of the Los Angeles Times.)
LOS ANGELES — A Metrolink train carrying morning commuters from Santa Clarita to downtown Los Angeles crashed into a pickup truck Monday at a crossing in Burbank and derailed, killing the truck driver and injuring at least 32 passengers and crew members, several seriously.
Police said the driver had attempted to skirt around a closed crossing gate as the four-car train bore down at an estimated 70 mph. The impact severed the cab from the rest of the pickup, flinging shrapnel onto Interstate 5, which runs parallel to the tracks. The first two cars of the train overturned, sending passengers tumbling “like clothes in a dryer,” one official said.
Tanya Aguilar was stopped at a traffic light when she saw the truck make a left turn from San Fernando Road onto Buena Vista Street, immediately in front of the train crossing.
“He slowed down and all of a sudden he turned right (around) the gates,” said Aguilar, 23, who said she began honking her car horn to warn the truck driver. “I don’t know how he couldn’t see the lights because they were flashing.”
The driver was tentatively identified based on identification found on his body, police said, but his name was not released.
Such accidents at railroad crossings have become increasingly common in Southern California as commuter rail lines have proliferated. In the past 10 years, 25 people have died in collisions involving cars or trucks and Metrolink trains, which run from Ventura to San Diego counties.
Several people familiar with the crossing where the accident occurred Monday said it has been the scene of several close calls. Burbank’s chief traffic engineer promised changes to make it safer.
The accident occurred at 9:30 a.m. The 450-ton train was being pushed by a rear locomotive, a common configuration that meant the front passenger coach took the brunt of the impact. Given the fact that two cars overturned and shrapnel was scattered over hundreds of feet, authorities said it was remarkable that the casualty figure was not higher.
“We were so fortunate,” said David Starr, a Burbank Fire Department battalion chief. “We should recognize how blessed we are today.”
The train’s engineer was in the lead passenger car, and he was among the four people who were most seriously injured, according to Sharon Gavin of Metrolink. The four were taken to hospitals, as well as eight others who were less seriously injured.
The most seriously injured passenger appeared to be a 48-year-old woman in critical condition at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills. Spokeswoman Tiffany Devall said the woman was diagnosed with back injuries and neurological damage, and had lost feeling in her lower extremities.
Metrolink No. 210 had begun its trip at 8:47 a.m. at the Via Princessa station in Santa Clarita. It had just left the Sun Valley station and was 20 minutes from its scheduled arrival at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles when the accident occurred not far from Burbank Airport. There were 58 passengers and two crew members aboard.