Residents watch train demolish homes
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Luis Sanchez, center, and his sister Claudia Sanchez, left, look at derailed train cars in their backyard.
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COMMERCE, California (AP) -- Residents of Commerce, a largely industrial community east of Los Angeles, watched in shock as a line of cars from a Union Pacific freight train broke loose, derailed and hurled tons of lumber onto trackside homes Friday.
"We saw the train demolishing and splintering the house. You saw the power lines going down, the sparks. I was in shock," said Jason Mendez, 34.
Some witnesses stood outside the debris crying. Others watched in silence as rescue workers combed the wreckage.
Luis Carlos Vasquez Jr., 31, was raking in the back yard of one of the homes hit by flying wreckage when he heard the train.
"The sound wasn't right. When I turned around, rocks are flying, there are two box cars in the air."
He said he rushed inside the house to rescue his sister, who had taken refuge in a closet.
"A pair of wheels fell in front of me. The ceiling was coming down. Debris all over the place. I got my sister and carried her out."
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