Amtrak train collides with truck in Moorpark,Ca...1 killed!!!(Photo by ROB VARELA/VC Star.com)
Breaking News-A man has died this morning as a result of a collision between his pick-up truck and an Amtrak train dubbed the Pacific Surfliner, in the city of Moorpark,California.
Moorpark is a suburb of Los Angeles, and is located about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
The Pacific Surfliner is a popular line that runs from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.
Authorities responded to Los Angeles Avenue and Grimes Canyon at about 10:20 a.m., according to Bill Nash from the Ventura County Fire Department. Rescuers extricated the victim from the car, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene, Nash said.
Initial reports from the California Highway Patrol indicated that the driver of the truck was trapped inside, but was still conscious and breathing,but unfortunately he soon expired from his injuries sustained in the collision said Bill Nash, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
There were no reported injuries on the train, and the train was shut-down due to the collision.
Apparently, the accident occurred at a train crossing, and ABC news reports…Authorities said the train crossing is part of the farming community, and there were no crossing arms.(SOURCE)
Crossing arms are in place as a safety measure to ensure drivers that a train is near, and you should not attempt to cross at this time.When they are not in place,a collision such as the one that occurred this morning,is inevitable.
Interestingly enough,there was a string of deadly collisions between Amtrak trains and motorist at train crossings that had no crossing arms in 2000. In one highly publicized incident, a driver was killed in a tree trimming truck, several of the passengers were injured on the truck, and 28 injuries were sustained by the passengers on the Amtrak train.
In the 2000 crash,rescue personnel at the scene… said that the crash occurred as the tree trimmers were driving on a private road, leading to a storage yard, at 10765 New Los Angeles Ave. to dump a truckload of tree trimmings.
There are no crossing arms or signals at the site, but there is railroad crossing and stop signs posted.
The crash occurred in the same area as several other train-vehicle collisions. Just last year, two men died after their car was struck by a train while crossing the tracks at Hitch Road, authorities said.(SOURCE-2000 Moorpark AMTRAK and truck collision)
In both collisions, the 2000 crash and the one today, the cause of the accident and deaths is the fact that the county has not felt the need to install fully functioning crossing arms,or maintain them.
In light of today’s tragedy, I have to ask,….how many lives will have to be lost, until this hazard is deemed serious enough for them to install crossing arms at all train crossings that are in use???
I am certain that the families of today’s victim, and all the past victims of the train crossings with no crossing arms will appreciate the swift action to correct this hazard, …that has taken the lives of their loved ones.
Hopefully, those in charge will consider the lives lost, as payment in blood, for their much-needed crossing arms, even if it is a rural farming community.
Sources….
MercuryNews.com
Ventura County Star News
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