L.A. Train-Truck Crash Kills One

A Metrolink train carrying Monday morning commuters smashed into a truck at a railroad crossing, upending two passenger rail cars and killing at least one person in the truck, which burst into flames.

There were about 50 passengers aboard train No. 210 from the Santa Clarita Valley to Los Angeles, said Sharon Gavin, Metrolink spokeswoman. Firefighters pulled injured and dazed passengers from the upended cars.

"We have at least one fatality from the truck and we have a number of (injured) victims in the trains," Burbank Fire Department spokesman David Starr said.

"The collision has resulted in the derailment of the lead cab car and the next passenger coach," Metrolink spokeswoman Colleen Rictor told CBS Radio station KNX-AM. "Injuries to the train engineer and passengers have been reported."

Firefighters pulled some passengers from the wreckage and set up a triage area to treat the injured. Some passengers carried the injured from the upended cars before firefighters arrived. Passersby used a metal girder to smash the window of a door on one upended passenger car and helped other people to safety.

The accident happened about 9:30 a.m.

Burbank is about 10 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

It was the worst Metrolink accident since a commuter train was struck by a freight train April 23 in Placentia, killing two people and injuring more than 200.

Investigators believe that crash was caused when the crew of a Burlington Northern-Santa Fe freight train ran two warning signals before plowing into the double-decker Metrolink passenger train. The freight engineer told police he was blinded by the sun and missed a crucial signal light.

The truck drove onto the tracks at a crossing where the gates were down and the signal lights were flashing. Authorities confirmed the signals were working at the time.

Twelve people were taken to hospitals and 20 others suffered minor injuries, Fire Department Battalion Chief David Starr said.

Ryan Schatz, 26, of Valencia was seated in the second car when it rolled over.

"I couldn't see what we hit ... I saw the fire go by and that was it," he said.

Some people were in shock, others screamed and yelled, and others remained calm, Schatz said. "There were quite a few people able to walk out."

Metrolink operates commuter trains over seven routes in six Southern California counties. It carries about 33,500 riders on 138 trains each weekday. The service began in 1992.

Last April, two people were killed and more than 150 injured in Placentia when a Metrolink train slammed into a 67-car Burlington Northern Santa Fe train.