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One dead in California after train hits pickupPassenger cars jump track; 32 people injured
BURBANK, California (CNN) -- One person died and 32 others were injured Monday when a Metrolink commuter train slammed into a pickup truck at a railroad crossing and derailed in Burbank, California, authorities said. "The lights were flashing and I heard the air horn of the train," said retired firefighter Jack Mitchell, who was driving near the accident site. "I looked to my left and I looked straight, and here's this truck going across the tracks. All of a sudden it hit, and a big fireball occurred." The driver of the pickup was killed and four of the train's passengers were seriously injured, said Battalion Chief David Starr of the Burbank Fire Department. Eight others were moderately hurt and 20 were slightly hurt, he said. The accident occurred in an industrial area about 10 miles north of Los Angeles at 9:30 a.m. (12:30 p.m. EST), after rush hour, when the train's four passenger cars were carrying just 58 people and two crew members, said Sharon Gavin, a Metrolink spokeswoman. "This could have been much worse," Starr said. The train had just left the Sun Valley station and was heading into the Burbank station en route to its destination in Los Angeles. The fire department arrived in four minutes and found a number of good Samaritans, including two retired and one off-duty firemen who happened to have been at the scene, working to free those trapped in the cars, which came to rest 1,000 feet from the point of impact, Starr said. Two of the cars had overturned. "A lot of people screaming and crying and in pain" is how retired Los Angeles fire engineer Chic Mokracek described the scene. He and Mitchell went to the overturned train cars. "There was one woman who was trapped and kind of wound around a table, and a couple [of] critical [injuries] that we needed to attend to," Mokracek said. Firefighters quickly put out the fire that had engulfed the 2-ton pickup truck, Starr said. The truck was cut in half and badly crushed and burned, said Sgt. John Dilibert of the Burbank Police Department. Witnesses said the truck was a Ford F-350, possibly being used as a utility vehicle. Safety features apparently workingPreliminary indications are that the rail crossing's safety features were working as intended, Gavin said. "It appears that the gates were down, the lights were working and the crossing was closed off," Gavin said. Among the injured was the train's engineer, who was in the lead car of the four-car train, she said. From there, the engineer controlled the locomotive, which was pushing from the rear. The sheer weight of the 450-ton train makes it difficult for the engineer to control. "Even if you see something and you react as quickly as possible, it's at least a third of a mile before that train comes to a stop," Gavin said. The train was equipped with a device similar to the flight data recorders that are standard equipment on commercial jetliners, Gavin said. Its data will be studied to help determine the cause of the crash, she said. "It's too early to tell exactly what happened, how it all transpired," Dilibert said. "There are several witnesses we're conducing interviews with, as well as looking at a lot of the evidence out here, such as debris, looking at skid marks, looking at damage to the rails," he said. Although the track is rated for trains to travel at 79 mph, the train was going "probably 50," he said. Relatives seeking information on family members who might have been involved may call 800-371-LINK.
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