Jimcs50
01-26-2005, 12:58 PM
At least 9 killed as California trains derail
Scores more injured in L.A. suburb of GlendaleBREAKING NEWS
The Associated Press
Updated: 12:39 p.m. ET Jan. 26, 2005GLENDALE, Calif. - A Metrolink commuter train in suburban Los Angeles struck a vehicle, derailed and sideswiped another train early Wednesday, killing nine people and injuring more than 100 others, authorities said.
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Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said it appears a vehicle was deliberately placed on the railroad tracks before the derailment. :wtf
Firefighters picked through twisted wreckage scattered across the tracks and carried wounded passengers from the trains to a triage center set up in a nearby parking lot.
“At this time, we believe we have nine fatalities,” Fire Chief William Battmare said. More than 100 people were transported to hospitals, he said.
One commuter train was headed from Los Angeles’ Union Station to downtown Burbank, and the other was bound to Union Station from Moorpark, Metrolink officials said.
“I heard a noise. It got louder and louder,” said passenger Diane Brady, 56, of Simi Valley. “And next thing I knew the train tilted, everyone was screaming and I held onto a pole for dear life. I held on for what seemed like a week and a half, it seemed. It was a complete nightmare.”
In a light rain, firefighters climbed ladders into windows of a battered train tipped onto its side.
Nearly 300 firefighters were at the scene in the suburb north of Los Angeles and 35 ambulances were taking injured passengers to hospitals, officials said.
Dazed passengers, some limping, gathered at tables in a nearby store, while the injured sprawled on color-coded mats in the parking lot: red for those with severe injuries, green for those less seriously harmed.
The accident started when one of the Metrolink trains struck a vehicle at a crossing, according to Kathryn Blackwell, a spokeswoman for Union Pacific in Omaha, Neb. One of the Metrolink trains then struck a parked Union Pacific car, tipping it onto its side, she said.
Among the train passengers who died was a sheriff’s deputy on his way into work from his home in Simi Valley, said county Sheriff Lee Baca. Baca did not identify him.
One Metrolink car was sent twisting backward by the force of the crash, which occurred after 6 a.m. A small fire erupted, and smoke could be seen wafting from the wreckage.
George Touma, 19, of Burbank, said he was called by his mother, who was on one of the Metrolink trains.
“She told me she was bleeding in the head and her arm was really hurting,” said Touma, who was searching for her. “I’m really worried because she has vertigo and when I tried to call back she wouldn’t answer.” He said she told him of hearing “sequential loud noises and then somebody pulled her out of the train while it was burning.”
Metrolink began service in 1992 and operates seven lines, part of a multibillion-dollar transportation network aimed at reducing pollution and congestion in Southern California.
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Scores more injured in L.A. suburb of GlendaleBREAKING NEWS
The Associated Press
Updated: 12:39 p.m. ET Jan. 26, 2005GLENDALE, Calif. - A Metrolink commuter train in suburban Los Angeles struck a vehicle, derailed and sideswiped another train early Wednesday, killing nine people and injuring more than 100 others, authorities said.
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Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said it appears a vehicle was deliberately placed on the railroad tracks before the derailment. :wtf
Firefighters picked through twisted wreckage scattered across the tracks and carried wounded passengers from the trains to a triage center set up in a nearby parking lot.
“At this time, we believe we have nine fatalities,” Fire Chief William Battmare said. More than 100 people were transported to hospitals, he said.
One commuter train was headed from Los Angeles’ Union Station to downtown Burbank, and the other was bound to Union Station from Moorpark, Metrolink officials said.
“I heard a noise. It got louder and louder,” said passenger Diane Brady, 56, of Simi Valley. “And next thing I knew the train tilted, everyone was screaming and I held onto a pole for dear life. I held on for what seemed like a week and a half, it seemed. It was a complete nightmare.”
In a light rain, firefighters climbed ladders into windows of a battered train tipped onto its side.
Nearly 300 firefighters were at the scene in the suburb north of Los Angeles and 35 ambulances were taking injured passengers to hospitals, officials said.
Dazed passengers, some limping, gathered at tables in a nearby store, while the injured sprawled on color-coded mats in the parking lot: red for those with severe injuries, green for those less seriously harmed.
The accident started when one of the Metrolink trains struck a vehicle at a crossing, according to Kathryn Blackwell, a spokeswoman for Union Pacific in Omaha, Neb. One of the Metrolink trains then struck a parked Union Pacific car, tipping it onto its side, she said.
Among the train passengers who died was a sheriff’s deputy on his way into work from his home in Simi Valley, said county Sheriff Lee Baca. Baca did not identify him.
One Metrolink car was sent twisting backward by the force of the crash, which occurred after 6 a.m. A small fire erupted, and smoke could be seen wafting from the wreckage.
George Touma, 19, of Burbank, said he was called by his mother, who was on one of the Metrolink trains.
“She told me she was bleeding in the head and her arm was really hurting,” said Touma, who was searching for her. “I’m really worried because she has vertigo and when I tried to call back she wouldn’t answer.” He said she told him of hearing “sequential loud noises and then somebody pulled her out of the train while it was burning.”
Metrolink began service in 1992 and operates seven lines, part of a multibillion-dollar transportation network aimed at reducing pollution and congestion in Southern California.
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050126/050126_train_hmed_630a0.standard.jpg