A four-car commuter train derailment in Ventura County, California, injured 28 people and caused extreme delays on the Metrolink rail system around Los Angeles.
No passengers were killed, according to the Ventura County fire department spokesman, Captain Mike Lindbery. It is believed that a tractor trailer was sitting on the tracks when it was struck by the train.
“For some reason there was a tractor trailer on the tracks there at Rice Avenue and train 102 collided with it,” Scott Johnson of Metrolink told CBS Los Angeles. The driver fled but was later apprehended, Lindbery said.
Three toppled rail cars could be seen from local television station helicopter footage, with dozens of firefighters gathered around the scene.
The crash occurred just before 6am. By 6.10am, Metrolink officials announced that the tracks were closed after line 102 struck a vehicle, and photos of a fire on the tracks, believed to be the truck, began surfacing around 6.20am.
30 injured in train crash vs tractor trailer that caught fire photo: Sean Lyon @CBSLA http://t.co/j7uW6cm4iO pic.twitter.com/BIFaJPzjlm
— JASMINE VIEL (@jasmineviel) February 24, 2015
PHOTO:#Metrolink train struck truck at crossing.Truck caught fire. Several train cars derailed http://t.co/MTisusOzgz pic.twitter.com/1kDpLVcaMp
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) February 24, 2015
Several rail lines have already canceled service for the day because of the crash. The Metrolink’s official Twitter account said passengers should expect “extensive delays” following the derailment.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Railroad Administration had investigators on the scene of the crash.
The Metrolink system, which connects five counties with the city of Los Angeles, has an annual ridership of about 11.7m, according to the Los Angeles Times.
