TRAIN CRASH KILLS MAN DRIVER, 82, PLOWS THROUGH GUARD ARM, ON TO TRACKS.Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - An 82-year-old man died Wednesday evening after he drove his car in front of a Metrolink train going 79 mph in Simi Valley, officials said. The car spun around and smashed into a line of vehicles waiting behind the guard rail, but no one else was seriously injured, and none of the 150 people on the train was injured, officials said. ``We were stunned,'' said Alberto Olivo said, who was with his wife, Sonia, in their car and saw the driver of the Chevrolet Malibu The Chevrolet Malibu (named after Malibu, California) is a mid-size car produced in the United States by General Motors. It is marketed in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Israel. cover his face with his hands just before the train hit him. It was the second Metrolink crash since April 23, when a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Santa Fe, city, Argentina Santa Fe, city (1991 pop. 341,000), capital of Santa Fe prov., NE Argentina, a river port near the Paraná, with which it is connected by canal. freight train ran a red signal light in Orange County and crashed head-on into a Metrolink train, killing two people. Keith Futterman was making dinner in his Simi Valley house just before 5:25 p.m. when the crash occurred. ``All of a sudden it hit. It shook the whole house,'' Futterman said. ``I felt really bad. It really made me sick.'' Futterman said he ran out to see if he could help, but when he smelled gas he feared the whole area would burst into flames. Simi Valley police said the man was driving the car west on 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 before he turned on to the tracks. Lt. Rex Jones of the Simi Valley Police Department The Simi Valley Police Department (SVPD) is the police department of the city of Simi Valley, California. The department currently has over 120 sworn officers, and more than 65 support personnel[1]. The department has a patrol area that covers over 39 square miles. said it appeared the man was attempting to make a right turn on to Sycamore Drive. The tracks run parallel to Los Angeles Avenue, just a few yards to the north. Jones said police were trying to determine what caused the man to make the fatal turn. ``It could be he had a medical condition, it could be he was not paying attention Noun 1. paying attention - paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people); "his attentiveness to her wishes"; "he spends without heed to the consequences" attentiveness, heed, regard , it could be a lot of things,'' Jones said. Sgt. Paul Fitzpatrick of the Simi Valley Police Department said the 82- year-old driver apparently went underneath the flexible Fiberglas arm of the guard rail. After the collision, the man's car spun 360 degrees, broke through the guardrail on the other side of the tracks, and hit a black Ford Mustang For other Ford Mustang models and concepts, see . The Ford Mustang is an automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company, originally based on the Ford Falcon compact.[1] waiting with a line of cars on Sycamore Drive, police said. Metrolink officials were testing the guard arms to see if there had been any malfunctions. After the train hit it, the Chevrolet broke off the guard rail, smashed into the Mustang and sent debris onto the other cars in the southbound lanes of Sycamore Drive, witnesses said. The crash apparently ruptured the car's gas tank and fuel spread over the site, witnesses said. Firefighters arrived at the scene within minutes and spread an absorbent absorbent /ab·sor·bent/ (-sor´bent) 1. able to take in, or suck up and incorporate. 2. a tissue structure involved in absorption. 3. a substance that absorbs or promotes absorption. material, akin to cat litter, on the area to stop fuel from spreading and reduce the potential for explosion. The driver of the Malibu was taken to Simi Valley Hospital Simi Valley Hospital (SVH) is a Seventh-day Adventist hospital located located in Simi Valley, California. SVH is a member of Adventist Health. New Construction Simi Valley Hospital is in the process of building a new wing to the hospital. in critical condition with massive head trauma, said firefighters who freed him through a window of his car. Police said later Wednesday the man had died. Some other people from the line of waiting cars were treated, but their injuries were described as minor. Minnie Hernandez said she was sitting in a Dodge minivan in the line of cars behind the Mustang when the crash occurred and glass began falling on her van. ``It's like I wasn't there,'' she said. ``It happened in slow motion. I didn't even see the white car. I was worried the black car was going to hit me.'' About five feet behind her lay the crumpled crum·ple v. crum·pled, crum·pling, crum·ples v.tr. 1. To crush together or press into wrinkles; rumple. 2. To cause to collapse. v.intr. 1. trunk cover from the Chevrolet - about 50 feet from the railroad tracks. Police interviewed the train's conductor, engineer and passengers to find out if there were any injuries on board, and the tracks were closed for 90 minutes before the train continued on to Moorpark. In the Orange County crash April 23, two passengers on the Metrolink train were killed and hundreds of other people injured. The crash, in Placentia, was the worst in the nine-year history of Metrolink, which carries 32,000 passengers on 128 trains daily. Metrolink and 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 trains run on Union Pacific railroad Union Pacific Railroad, transportation company chartered (1862) by Congress to build part of the nation's first transcontinental railroad line. Under terms of the Pacific Railroads Act, the Union Pacific was authorized to build a line westward from Omaha, Nebr. lines in Ventura County. The Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) was created in 1966 as a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation to promote rail transportation and safety. The FRA is one of 10 agencies within the Department of Transportation concerned with intermodal transportation. reports that 96 percent of rail-related fatalities in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. are due to grade-crossing collisions and railroad trespassing. California had the highest number of train-related fatalities in the nation, reaching a four-year high of 126 in 2001, up from 101 in 200. In Ventura County, four people were killed in train-related incidents in 2001. In Los Angeles County, the total number of fatalities in railroad incidents - including trains striking pedestrians and vehicles - reached a five-year high of 16 in 2001. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, map Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) A worker clears debris from the scene of a fatal train crash Wednesday on Sycamore Drive in Simi Valley, above, At right, a police officer takes notes on the wreck that killed an 82-year-old man. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer (3 -- color) A Ford Mustang, left, and a Chevrolet Malibu lie crumpled on Sycamore Drive in Simi Valley. A train crashed into the Chevy and knocked it into the Ford on Wednesday. Map: SIMI VALLEY Warren Huskey/Staff Artist |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion