Reports: Amtrak Train Derails After Hitting Truck in Southern Calif.; 16 Injured

Photo Courtesy of VCFD, via Twitter

An Amtrak Coast Starlight passenger train heading to Seattle from Los Angeles and carrying approximately 198 passengers derailed on June 28 at 11:15 a.m. in Moorpark, Calif., after striking a county water truck that was blocking the tracks, injuring 16 people and causing “severe damage” to the train, according to multiple news reports.

According to USA Today, Amtrak Train No. 14 was heading northbound toward Seattle when it collided with the truck that had been delivering water to local ranches, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Captain Dean Worthy said at a news briefing.

According to the Associated Press (AP), “three of the train’s seven cars went off the tracks following the collision,” said Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) Captain Brian McGrath. “The derailed train cars remained upright on tracks adjacent to an orchard and bare sections of the land.”

The driver of the truck was transported to a trauma center with a head injury and another person was taken to a medical center with a “minor medical emergency,” according to VCFD. Fourteen others were transported from the scene with minor injuries.

According to a Los Angeles Times report, officials said the fact that the cars remained upright “probably prevented serious injuries.”

According to AP, “parts of the demolished Ventura County Public Works truck were scattered all around the derailed train cars.” McGrath said the truck’s driver was “believed to have gotten out of the vehicle before the crash, but later clarified that the circumstances leading up to the wreck weren’t known.”

As of Wednesday evening, officials said the driver was in critical condition, according to the Los Angeles Times.

According to AP, “most of the passengers were able to get off the train cars on their own or with the aid of first responders,” McGrath said. TV news helicopters showed numerous people, many carrying luggage, milling about in a field as firefighters worked the scene.

“There were approximately 198 passengers and 13 crew onboard who were evacuated from the train, with no reports of serious injuries,” Amtrak said in a statement following the incident. “Amtrak is working with customers to make alternate travel arrangements. Amtrak, in coordination with local authorities, is conducting a full investigation.”

According to USA Today, “authorities had conflicting numbers of passengers on the derailed train,” but Worthy stated that there were between 190 and 210 people, including Amtrak employees.

According to CNN, fire and emergency medical crews have cleared the scene, VCFD said. Passengers were taken to a reunification center at the Moorpark Adult Active Center where they could contact family members.

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, most people at the center were picked up or had boarded buses to Union Station in Los Angeles, according to USA Today.

Coast Starlight Train No. 14 departed Union Station in Los Angeles at approximately 10 a.m. and was scheduled to stop in San Luis Obispo at 2:52 p.m. on its way to the Pacific Northwest, according to Amtrak.

The accident occurred near Muranaka Farms in Moorpark, a city of about 35,000 residents located roughly 50 miles outside downtown Los Angeles.

In all, two locomotives, three sleeper cars, two coaches, and a dinner car, lounge car and baggage car were damaged in the incident, which occurred on the 11000 block of Los Angeles Avenue, also known as Highway 18, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

However, following the crash, the remainder of the train’s schedule was canceled. Additionally, Wednesday’s southbound Coast Startlight was expected to terminate in Emeryville in the Bay Area, according to Amtrak.

The crash is currently under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).