Los Angeles commuter train, 2 cars collide, causing several injuries

LA commuter train, 2 cars in collision

LOS ANGELES — A Metrolink commuter train collided Wednesday with a vehicle that had been hurled onto the tracks after being struck from behind by another vehicle, authorities said. Six people were injured, including two critically.

The chain-reaction crash was reported shortly after 7 a.m. in the eastern San Fernando Valley.

Four people in the two vehicles were injured and two were taken to hospitals in critical condition, including an infant, said Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey. The infant, a man and a woman were in one of the vehicles, while a male driver, also in critical condition, was in the other, he said.

Two of the 36 passengers aboard the train were taken to hospitals for treatment of minor injuries, he said.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda said it appeared that one vehicle was struck from behind by another vehicle, went airborne and wound up on the tracks where it was struck by the train.

Metrolink spokeswoman Angie Starr also said a vehicle landed on the tracks after being involved in a street accident.

The collisions left one mangled vehicle on a dirt strip adjacent to the tracks, with another damaged car close by. The train came to a stop down the tracks, with little apparent damage.

The train was on Metrolink’s Antelope Valley line and had left downtown Los Angeles at 6:35 a.m. en route to Sylmar, Starr said.

The Southern California train agency has been plagued in recent years by major crashes. Last year, 25 people were killed when a Metrolink train collided with a freight train. Investigators believe the Metrolink engineer ran a red light seconds after he was text messaging on his cell phone.

In 2005, 11 people died and about 180 were injured when a man who later claimed he was suicidal parked his sport utility vehicle on the tracks in suburban Glendale. The driver of the SUV was convicted of murder.