Saturday, December 06, 2008

Metrolink train slams into car in Riverside (December 2, 2008) The driver of the car got out safely before the crash. No injuries in this incident!!

BS Ranch Perspective:
There have been an awful lot of accidents from the trains and Metro Link system as of late. With the trains running into each other, and cars and trucks getting crunched at Rail Road Grade Crossings that have steadally been on the rise, it is only right now that we know that they have figured that they have placed the new grade crossings as bridges over the tracks instead of leaving them as straight grade crossings with the basic drop arms to stop traffic each time that a train happens by!
The trouble with the drop arms is that the idiot driver that thinks he knows better then the drop arms and makes the attempts to drive across or around the drop arms and proceed on their marry way! This offence is one that costs a great deal when ticketed for it, but when it happens that a train is happening by at a speed that is faster then the driver of the car that is driving around the grade crossing arms at the time that they felt that they could make it, and they are caught by the train then they are either seriously injured or Killed by their stupidity!!
BS Ranch

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-train2-2008dec02,0,4490810.story
From the Los Angeles Times

Metrolink train slams into car in Riverside

The driver of the car got out safely before the crash. No one was hurt on the train, which was traveling from Union Station to Riverside. The accident is under investigation.
By Phil Willon

December 2, 2008

A Metrolink commuter train slammed into a vehicle on the tracks near a crossing in Riverside on Monday night, but the female driver and her passenger got out safely before the crash, authorities said.

Steven Frasher, a spokesman for the Riverside Police Department, said the 21-year-old woman made a left turn onto the railroad tracks at Jurupa Avenue, mistaking them for a street. When she realized her mistake, she got out of the car and got clear of the tracks as the Metrolink 412 train approached about 7:45 p.m.

There were 40 passengers on the train, which had left Union Station in downtown Los Angeles at 6:35 p.m. heading to Riverside, Metrolink spokesman Francisco Oaxaca said. He said there were no injuries reported on the train.

Passengers on the train, which was only 10 minutes from its final stop, heard the crunch of metal and felt a slight bump.

The train stayed on the track and came to a rapid but relatively smooth stop.

Passengers were kept on the train for about two hours until police could complete their investigation and the tracks could be cleared and inspected.

Willon is a Times staff writer.

phil.willon@latimes.com

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