CA Light-Rail Train Collision Injures 27 People

A Sacramento Regional Transit light-rail train collided with a maintenance train Thursday night, injuring 27 people on board, including 13 who were transported to area hospitals.

It is the second collision to occur between two trains in Sacramento since RT began operating light-rail service in 1987.

The Blue Line train crash into a test train around 9:40 p.m. in an isolated area of rails parallel to Roseville Road and Del Paso Park. The scene of the accident was about a mile from where the tracks cross under Interstate 80 and into Sacramento city limits. At least three cars were seen stopped in the dark, wooded trackside that crosses Arcade Creek near Marconi Avenue as police and fire crews assessed the scene.

Sacramento Regional Transit officials did not respond to inquiries about the incident but told CBS 13 that a test train carrying three employees collided with the two-car southbound train. It’s not known how the crash occurred. RT officials told CBS 13 that none of the employees were hurt in the crash.

It’s likely that the crash will cause some delays for early morning commuters who ride RT from the Watt Avenue-Interstate 80 station toward downtown. A bus bridge has been set up between the Watt/I-80 station in North Highlands and the Marconi-Arcade station, according to a service alert on Regional Transit’s website.

In an open field west of the incident, cars were seen upright and appeared to be on the tracks in two sets, separated by about 25 feet of rail, as riders were escorted to a staging area several yards away in the Hagginwood neighborhood of the city just before 10 p.m.

Capt. Keith Wade of the Sacramento Fire Department said that two of the 13 riders who were hospitalized suffered moderate injuries—he described all the injuries as not life-threatening. Others aboard the commuter line, described as “walking wounded,” were treated at the scene and released, he said.

Wade said that firefighters were initially called to the scene for a “motor vehicle accident with a possible extrication,” and came upon the train in a difficult area away from streets.

“Sounded like a big crash,” said Andrew Hernandez, who lives nearby. “We thought it was an accident (on the street). Then, we looked out and saw all the ambulances flying down the street.”

Fifteen ambulances were on scene for transport and more than 40 firefighters were assisting, according to a Sacramento Fire tweet. Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews, private ambulance services and the Sacramento Police Department assisted in the incident.

On Feb. 8, 1999, 30 people were injured in midtown when an RT train carrying passengers on a single-track bridge at 19th and R streets collided head-on with a disabled train that had been allowed to bypass a red signal light, according to previous reporting in The Sacramento Bee.

At the time, RT officials blamed the crash on an error by its radio control center to determine the location of the trains and the use of multiple radio channels by operators and maintenance personnel.

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