Ah, Shit! Train Crash!

[3113]

In my backyard. Current report: 10 confirmed dead, up to 20 dead, 100 injured so far. It's going to be hours, maybe not till tomorrow before everyone's been pulled out--dead or alive. So many poor people who don't know if their loved ones are okay.

LOS ANGELES - A commuter train believed to have been carrying up to 350 people during the afternoon rush collided with a freight train Friday, killing at least 10 people, injuring dozens and trapping an unknown number of others in a mangled passenger car imploded by its own engine. Firefighters extinguished a blaze under part of the wreckage and were working hours after the collision to free people from the destroyed commuter car, which was left toppled on its side with the train's engine shoved back inside it. Two other cars in the Metrolink train remained upright.

The Union Pacific freight train's engine was also turned onto its side, with the rest of the train splayed out like an accordion behind it. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said, "This is the worst accident I've ever seen....Clearly the injuries are going to mount and so are the fatalities."

The crash "made a terrible sound, like a bomb, a huge noise," said Julio Pedraza, 35, who lives and works at a nearby horse boarding facility. He said he saw passengers emerging from the wreckage, and he and others helped the injured, one with skin peeling off of his forehead. "They were yelling for help and crying," Pedraza said in Spanish.

Firefighters treated the injured at three triage areas near the wreck, and helicopters flew in and out of a nearby landing area on medical evacuation flights. Rescuers worked atop the wreckage and through breaches in the passenger car to reach victims. Dazed and injured passengers sat on the ground and milled about on both sides of the tracks. Surgeons were sent to the scene. Dr. Stephanie Hall, chief medical officer at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, said three people in critical condition — two females and a male — were being treated at the hospital. "They are massive injuries," she said.

....The trains collided in the Chatsworth area of the San Fernando Valley. Union Pacific spokeswoman Zoe Richmond said a freight train usually has a two-person crew. She also said it is common in California for freight and commuter trains to share the same track. "You see it a lot in California where commuter trains share tracks with freight trains," Richmond said, adding she couldn't speculate about the cause of the crash.

...The crash happened in an area where the tracks form a "U" shape, about 2,500 feet wide. At the top of the bend is a 500-foot long tunnel that runs beneath Stoney Point Park, popular with climbers for its large boulders. The toppled passenger car was part of a Bombardier BiLevel coach, commonly used for regional railways from Seattle's commuter rail Sounder to New Jersey Transit. Each double-decker car is about 16 feet high and 10 feet wide and can seat up to 160 passengers, depending on its configuration.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/09/12/us/13train02_600.jpg

 

[Guest]

Damn.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Damn.

Crap! I know exactly where that is. Those poor people!

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

Train wrecks seem to have a special terror all their own.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[fieryjen]

 

[TE999]

How horrible.

My heart goes out to the families of the victims.

 

[cloudy]

Chatsworth...where I went to grammar school.

Poor folks.

 

[Belegon]

Nasty that one...

My heart goes out to the families who have lost someone and those waiting and hoping.

 

[English Lady]

Oh, that is terrible. Prayers for all. Poor, poor people.

 

[rgraham666]

Damn.

 

[epiphany65]

Terrible news. I read that 104 were also injured. My sympathy and prayers are with them all.

 

[neonlyte]

Bad news... too much at the moment.

 

[Liar]

Scary.

 

[3113]

I should be clear that so far as I know, I didn't know anyone on that train, nor do I live that close to the area. But my husband and I visit that part of L.A. petty much bi-weekly, and we have a ton of friends all over L.A., including in that area or near it. So any time something like this happens we end up feeling like it's occurred next door.

I hope no one we know was on the train, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if we learned that there was someone on it related to someone we know. Firefighters and police and rescue dogs from all over, as far as Bakerfield have been brought in to help, and hospitals in every conceivable direction are taking care of the wounded. L.A.'s a huge, sprawling county, but every part of it is involved.

 

[impressive]

 

[jomar]

 

[Recidiva]

How horrible. Strength and healing to the people affected, so sorry to hear this.

 

[sweetness6280]

What a horrible tragedy. Thoughts and prayers to the families of those killed, all the injured, and the rescue workers.