Train Accident

Six people are dead and 28 others are still missing after a train accident involving the California Zephyr, an Amtrak passenger train connecting Chicago and Emeryville, California. According to news reports, the catastrophic train accident occurred the morning of June 24, 2011, when the train was struck by a semi tractor-trailer truck, at a road crossing. The 10-car train was almost near the end of its 2,438-mile route, about 260 miles from Emeryville, when the collision occurred. The gravel truck driver and the Amtrak conductor, Laurette Lee, 68, died at the scene. Another 76 people were treated at a local hospital for a variety of injuries from blunt trauma, including fractures, abrasions, lacerations and internal organ damage. Officials expect the casualty count to go up due to the large number of missing persons.

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Roberto Garcia, 26, was killed in a Riverside bicycle accident after he was struck by a train at a crossing. According to a news report in The Press-Enterprise, the fatal train accident occurred the afternoon of March 1, 2011 on Adams Street near Highway 91 in Riverside. Garcia and his girlfriend waited for a train to pass behind a crossing arm. After the westbound train cleared Garcia rode his bike onto the tracks and was struck by an eastbound train. He suffered fatal head injuries. An investigation is ongoing.

My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Roberto Garcia, the victim of this tragic bicycle versus train accident. My thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time.

Riverside Bicycle Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), two people were killed and 70 were injured in Riverside bicycle accidents. During the same year, there were nine fatalities and 362 injuries reported as a result of Riverside County bicycle accidents. Read the rest »

At least 21 people were injured in a train accident the afternoon of August 6, 2010 in Shafter, California. The Bakersfield Californian reports that many suffered minor injuries in the collision. The Amtrak train was carrying 219 passengers as it traveled south from Oakland to Bakersfield. The collision occurred between the train and a big rig at the intersection of Shafter Avenue and Central Valley Highway. Authorities say the caution arms and signals at the intersection were functional at the time. The driver of the truck was uninjured in the train accident. Read the rest »

A Metro Blue Line train accident in Long Beach the afternoon of July 7, 2010 was likely caused by the train driver running a red light, the Associated Press reports. Long Beach police officers say an onboard video shows the Metro Blue Line train running a stop signal before colliding with a Long Beach police patrol car injuring an officer, who still remains hospitalized with injuries. At least 10 passengers on the train sustained injuries in the crash as well. Read the rest »

Several people sustained injuries in a San Francisco train accident after a San Francisco Municipal Railway light rail vehicle and a passenger transport van collided the morning of May 20, 2010. According to a Bay City News report, the collision occurred at the intersection of 14th Avenue and Judah Street in the city's Inner Sunset neighborhood. Six people who were in the van suffered injuries and were transported to area hospitals. No one in the light rail vehicle seems to have been injured. The extent or seriousness of the injuries is not yet known. An investigation is ongoing. Read the rest »

A 57-year-old Metrolink passenger's hand was severed in an Orange County train accident after he fell off a platform and onto the tracks the morning of February 8, 2010 in Laguna Niguel. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the northbound Metrolink train dragged the man as it pulled out of Forbes Road station. The train cut off the man's left hand at the wrist and dragged him for a short distance on the tracks. The man is expected to survive. However, he was transported to a hospital to be treated for the amputation. Read the rest »

A driver was injured in a San Francisco car accident involving a Muni Metro train the afternoon of August 24, 2009, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The inbound L Taraval train was on Taraval Street when it collided with the car heading south on 34th Avenue. The male driver of the car, who was not identified, was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with injuries. Officials say they do not know yet what caused this collision. There are stop signs at the intersection for traffic on 34th Avenue, but not for traffic on Taraval. Read the rest »

Howard Mark Carter, 62, was killed in a California car accident the night of August 10, 2009 on the 91 Freeway after his BMW went through a guardrail and was struck by a freight train. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, Carter was driving his 2007 BMW west on the freeway near Corona, California, when his car swerved from the left lanes to the right shoulder and struck about 50 feet of guardrail. California Highway Patrol officials said Carter's car then rolled down a dirt embankment and stopped on the railroad tracks below. An oncoming train then struck the BMW on the passenger side, which caused the car to overturn on its roof. Carter was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured.
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Juan Tejada, 54, was killed in a California construction accident the afternoon of July 14, 2009 after his pickup truck was struck by an Amtrak train in Bay Point. According to a CBS News report, Tejada was an employee of the ARB construction company in Pittsburgh. The train versus car crash occurred near North Broadway Avenue and Willow Pass Road in unincorporated Contra Costa County, California Highway Patrol officials said. The collision happened at a private crossing on BNSF railway tracks. No one in the train was injured. Tejada was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Officials from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health are investigating the incident. They will be looking into what caused Tejada's truck to be hit and will try to determine whether any safety procedures were violated. The investigation could apparently take three to four months. Read the rest »