STOPPED IN THEIR TRACKS METROLINK TRAIN STRIKES COMPACT CAR.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

PALMDALE - A Metrolink commuter train slammed into a compact car stuck on the railroad tracks south of Palmdale on Tuesday morning, injuring no one but delaying Antelope Valley and Santa Clarita trains for nearly two hours.

The car's driver jumped out of the way seconds before the train hit it, shoving it some 50 yards, officials said.

``The gentleman driving the vehicle was able to get out. He tried to stop the Metrolink by waving his arms and ultimately he jumped out of the way,'' CHP Officer John Williams said.

The Ford Focus had hit a rail crossing-arm pole on Sierra Highway south of Barrel Springs Road about 6:38 a.m., spun onto the rails and got stuck there, officials said.

The crash illustrates the importance of getting out of a vehicle that becomes stuck on tracks and of calling 911 immediately to alert authorities that the track is blocked, Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell said.

``It's far better to hit an unoccupied vehicle. Clearly the driver wouldn't have survived if he'd remained in the car,'' Tyrrell said.

Driver Daniel Hinton, 23, of Palmdale was taken to a hospital with complaints of pain in his knee and head from the impact with the crossing-arm pole, Officer Robert McKee said.

No one was injured aboard the train, whose engineer hit the brakes and managed to slow down but couldn't come to a complete stop before striking the stuck car.

Metrolink trains travel about 60 mph on that section of track, Tyrrell said. They take about 1,800 feet to stop.

Hinton told investigators he hit the crossing-arm pole after swerving around another vehicle that had slowed down at the crossing, McKee said. Hinton said the train came along within 30 seconds to a minute of his car getting stuck, McKee said. Hinton told investigators the crossing arms were raised when he got to the crossing, but that is still being investigated, McKee said.

Carrying people to Santa Clarita, the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles train No. 206 was delayed until about 8:22 a.m., six minutes after it was originally due in Union Station.

Antelope Valley passengers for a half-hour-later southbound train were taken by bus to the Vincent/Acton station on the other side of the wreck, or were offered rides back to their cars, Tyrrell said.

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(1 -- 2 -- color; 2 color in AV edition only) Tow-truck workers prepare to move a compact car that was struck by a Metrolink commuter train Tuesday morning on Sierra Highway south of Palmdale. Nobody was injured in the crash, but trains were delayed for almost two hours.

Charles F. Bostwick/Daily News