Police question truck driver after collision derails train in California

Two people critically injured after at least three rail cars were flipped off tracks

An aerial view shows the scene of a double-decker Metrolink train derailment in Oxnard, California. Photograph: Reuters
An aerial view shows the scene of a double-decker Metrolink train derailment in Oxnard, California. Photograph: Reuters

A commuter train slammed into a tractor-trailer that was on the tracks early on Tuesday and derailed at a crossing in Oxnard, California, about 60 miles west of Los Angeles.

Numerous people were injured, at least two critically, but there were no immediate reports of any deaths. Television images showed that the collision, which occurred just before 6am, flipped at least three Metrolink rail cars on to their sides and set off a huge fireball that lit up the dark sky in Oxnard. Hours later, news helicopters showed firefighters dousing the smoldering ruins of the truck with foam, and medics treating passengers on colour-coded yellow and red tarps unfurled along the road. Other passengers, wrapped in blankets, huddled along the train tracks.

It was unclear why the truck had been on the tracks. An Oxnard fire department official at the scene said the driver had tried to flee – unsuccessfully – and was being held by the Oxnard police department. Police officials did not immediately return phone messages. The Los Angeles Times, quoting a Metrolink spokesman, said that 30 people had been injured. Other officials told reporters that "multiple" injuries had been reported but did not specify how many. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was "gathering information" on the crash and that it would formally launch an investigative team.

An aerial view shows the scene of a double-decker Metrolink train derailment in Oxnard, California. Photograph: Reuters
An aerial view shows the scene of a double-decker Metrolink train derailment in Oxnard, California. Photograph: Reuters

The crash interrupted train service in much of Ventura County and forced thousands of commuters to find buses or alternate routes. – (New York Times)