1 DEAD IN TRAIN COLLISION; LOCOMOTIVE SLAMS TRUCK AT CROSSING.Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer An Amtrak Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corp., authorized to operate virtually all intercity passenger railroad routes in the United States. Amtrak was created by Congress in 1970 in response to more than two decades of continuous operating deficits by privately run train bound for Seattle collided with a tractor-trailer at a private, unguarded crossing Saturday, killing its driver, critically injuring a bystander by·stand·er n. A person who is present at an event without participating in it. bystander Noun a person present but not involved; onlooker; spectator Noun 1. and igniting a fire in the train. Rodney Allen McCarty, 32, of Oxnard died in the 11:35 a.m. crash. McCarty had been towing farm equipment over a private rural road near Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Avenue and Hitch Boulevard when his truck was hit, California Highway Patrol highway patrol n. A state law enforcement organization whose police officers patrol the public highways. officials said. Authorities said a man who was installing new boards on a bridge on the same road when the crash happened was injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. by flying debris. He was transported to Los Robles Robles is a common surname in the Spanish language meaning oaks, and may refer to:
An unidentified train passenger was taken to the hospital a few hours after the crash for treatment of minor injuries. Amtrak officials had no information about the passenger and said none of the train's 375 other passengers and crew members was hurt. A sign on the side of the mangled tractor-trailer indicated it was owned by McCarty & Sons Towing & Equipment Transportation Service in Oxnard. A man answering the phone at the business Saturday would not comment on the crash. The relationship McCarty had with the company was unclear. Amtrak Train 14 bound for San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (săn l  `ĭs ōbĭs`pō), city (1990 pop. 41,958), seat of San Luis Obispo co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; inc. 1856. and Seattle left Los Angeles' Union Station at 9:51 a.m. While traveling through Ventura County, the passenger train was estimated to be moving about 70 mph, and the engineer put on the brakes when he saw the truck trying to cross, Amtrak officials said. Officials could not say whether McCarty had tried to beat the train at the road, which has only a stop sign and railroad crossing sign to mark the tracks. One of the train's four fuel tanks was punctured punc·ture v. punc·tured, punc·tur·ing, punc·tures v.tr. 1. To pierce with a pointed object. 2. To make (a hole) by piercing. 3. To cause to collapse by piercing. in the collision, releasing more than 500 gallons of fuel and causing a fire in the first few rail cars. The tractor-trailer was split in two, with the cab landing on one side of the tracks and its cargo on the other. Engine Company 42 was the first on a scene firefighters described as filled with dense, black smoke coming from several fires at the front of the train. At the same time, Amtrak crew members were evacuating passengers from the rear exits. Once the fires were extinguished ex·tin·guish tr.v. ex·tin·guished, ex·tin·guish·ing, ex·tin·guish·es 1. To put out (a fire, for example); quench. 2. To put an end to (hopes, for example); destroy. See Synonyms at abolish. 3. , hazardous materials crews monitored the fuel leak and were expected to drain the fuel out of the three tanks that remained intact. Many of the passengers and crew members said they didn't feel the collision and thought there was a crash on the road when they saw smoke. ``It's just a terrible tragedy,'' conductor Glenn Morton said. He said he has seen several fatal collisions in his years riding the rails, most of them in California. ``I just don't think people are aware of their surroundings,'' he said. ``On top of that, maybe the railroad could provide more protection here, crossing guards. But that can be expensive. People just need to be aware of what they're doing.'' As passengers waited for hours in the sun and under what little shade a few trees and ranch outbuildings provided, Amtrak officials tried to make them as comfortable as possible. Passenger John Raskin and his wife, Lori, of Canyon Country were traveling with John's father, their daughter and their daughter's friend to Spokane, Wash. Raskin said the first indication something was wrong was flickering lights Flickering Lights (Danish: Blinkende Lygter) is a Danish action-comedy from 2000 by Anders Thomas Jensen. Plot Flickering Light is about a gang of four men, who on a mission robs a case with four million kroner. in the cabin, followed by intense smoke outside the windows. ``The kids were scared,'' he said. ``They'd never been on a train for a long trip, so they didn't know what was going on. We were just trying to keep everybody calm.'' CAPTION(S): Photo, map PHOTO Ventura County firefighters examine a truck destroyed by an Amtrak train Saturday near Moorpark. The truck driver was killed. Michael Owen
Map: Deadly train crash |
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