Gold Line Accident at the Del Mar Crossing

Metro Gold Line train hits car, 1 injured
The vehicle parked on the tracks is struck about 11:40 a.m. in Pasadena.

Los Angeles Times
By Victoria Kim
August 12, 2008

A Metro Gold Line train struck a vehicle parked on the tracks this morning in Pasadena, seriously injuring an Altadena man, authorities said.

The driver, a man around 60 years old, suffered cuts to his head and hands and complained of pain in his legs but was conscious, said Lisa Derderian, spokeswoman for the Pasadena Fire Department.

The train was traveling southbound near the Del Mar station when it struck a four-door Geo Prizm, Derderian said. Crossings were down when the train struck the vehicle around 11:40 a.m., and it was not immediately clear why the man was on the tracks, she said.

Pasadena police were interviewing the estimated 40 people who were on the train. Surrounding streets were cordoned off as police and Metro authorities investigated the incident.

The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was transported to a nearby hospital.

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Gold Line Hits Car at Avenue 57

1 Hurt When Metro Train Hits Vehicle

KCBS-TV
February 17, 2008

HIGHLAND PARK - A Metro train collided with a vehicle in Highland Park on Sunday night, injuring one man, according to a city fire official.

The crash took place around 8:50 p.m. and involved an MTA Gold Line train. It was reported near North Avenue 57 and Marmion Way, Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

The driver of the vehicle sustained non life-threatening injuries and had to be transported to a hospital. However, no one riding the train was injured.

Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the crash.

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Accident at Crossing with 4-Quad Gates Sends Two to Hospital

2 Injured In Metro Train/Auto Collision

KCBS-TV
January 17, 2008

SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. ― Two people were transported to hospitals complaining of pain after a car struck a Metrolink Gold Line train in South Pasadena, police said Thursday.

The accident occurred near the intersection of Sycamore Avenue and Arroyo Verde Street around 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, when a 1991 Lexus sedan driven by 73-year-old Violet Youssef of Pasadena broadsided a train traveling to Union Station, a South Pasadena Police Department statement said.

The Lexus was traveling eastbound on Arroyo Verde when Youssef drove under a lowered gate crossing arm and struck the right side of the train's front passenger car, the statement said.

The Lexus sustained major damage to its front end and the train, which was traveling about 30 miles per hour, had moderate damage, police said. Youssef was taken to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center complaining of pain in her lower back but her 20-year-old passenger was not injured, the police statement said.

One of the 40 train passengers, a 33-year-old Pasadena man, complained of back pain and was taken to Alhambra Hospital, it said.

Gold Line Catches Fire After Hitting Car that Ran Through Crossing Gates

6 Injured When Train, SUV Collide In Highland Park

KCBS-TV
September 21, 2007

LOS ANGELES ― Authorities report a sport utility vehicle smashed through a crossing gate and broadsided a commuter train during Los Angeles' morning rush hour, causing a fire and injuring six people.

The Metro Gold Line train was heading from downtown Los Angeles north to Pasadena when it was struck shortly after 7 a.m. in the Mount Washington area.

The train caught fire but it was quickly put out.

Four train passengers, the train's operator and the SUV's driver were hurt in the crash but the injuries are not considered life-threatening.

The commuter train line carries passengers between Los Angeles' Chinatown and suburbs east of the city.

This is the second injury accident involving the Gold Line in less than two weeks.

On September 11th, seven people were injured when a pickup truck ran a red light at a non-gated crossing in the Highland Park area northeast of downtown and struck a train during the morning rush hour. The truck was pinned between the train and a concrete pillar.

The Gold Line opened in 2003.

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Six hurt in Gold Line collision

Pasadena Star
September 21, 2007

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A sport utility vehicle broadsided an MTA commuter train during the Friday morning rush hour, causing a fire and injuring six people in the second Gold Line crash in two weeks, authorities said.

The Metro Gold Line train was heading from downtown Los Angeles north to Pasadena when it was struck shortly after 7 a.m. in the Mount Washington area, said David Sotero, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

"The SUV T-boned the train when the crossing gates were down," he said.

It was unclear whether the truck went around the lowered gate or smashed through it, he said. Televised reports showed the crossing gate broken off and lying on the ground. A witness told officials the SUV went around the crossing arm, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Ron Kegel said. About 20 people were on the train, he said.

The train was going about 20 mph when it was struck, Sotero said. Kegel said even at that speed, the operator didn't have time to avoid the vehicle. "The train is several tons. Just the inertia of going even 20 mph, it's going to take some distance before that train can stop," Kegel said.

The train caught fire. It was quickly extinguished but the train was significantly damaged, fire officials said. Four train passengers, the train's operator and the SUV's driver were hurt, but the injuries were not life-threatening, Sotero said.

The commuter train line carries passengers between Los Angeles and suburbs east of the city.

On Sept. 11, seven people were injured when a pickup truck ran a red light at a non-gated crossing in the Highland Park area northeast of downtown - two blocks away from Friday's accident - and struck a train during the morning rush hour. The truck was pinned between the train and a concrete pillar.

Gold Line Going 15 mph Injures 7, Crushes F-150 Like a Potato Chip Bag & Traps Motorist

7 hurt when Gold Line train hits truck at Highland Park crossing

Los Angeles Times
By Andrew Blankstein and Tami Abdollah
September 12, 2007

A Gold Line light-rail train carrying dozens of people hit a pickup during rush hour Tuesday morning in Highland Park, injuring seven people, authorities said.

The crash occurred shortly before 8 a.m. at a crossing at Avenue 55 and Marmion Way.

The 35-year-old driver of the pickup truck was taken to Huntington Hospital in Pasadena with unspecified injuries, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Suzan Young said.

The driver was awake and alert but was considered in critical condition because of the potential for internal injuries, a Fire Department official said.

The truck was severely damaged.

Six people on the train – including the operator and a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy providing security on the train – were being treated for minor neck and back injuries, Young said.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said the southbound train was carrying as many as 60 people.

A witness told investigators the pickup driver tried to beat the train, which was passing through a crossing that has lights and bells but no gates, MTA spokesman Jose Ubaldo said.

“Either he disregarded the signals – and there are plenty going along that Gold Line, so he had to disregard it – or he wasn’t paying attention,” said d’Lisa Davies, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles City Fire Department.

She said she did not know whether all the signals were working Tuesday morning.

Among the injured passengers was a 52-year-old woman who jumped off the train after the crash and broke one of her legs.

MTA officials said trains usually travel 15 mph to 20 mph through the area, a narrow stretch of track that is blocks from the Highland Park station.

The 14-mile Gold Line, which opened in 2003, connects Pasadena and Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.

About 20,000 people travel the route daily. Each car holds up to 144 passengers and costs $2.36 million.

Shuttle buses took passengers to stations south and north of the accident.

Heavy equipment was brought in to move the train.

andrew.blankstein@latimes.com
tami.abdollah@latimes.com

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7 Injured When Gold Line Train, Truck Collide

KCBS-TV
September 11, 2007

LOS ANGELES ― Seven people were injured today, one of them critically, when a Metro Gold Line train collided with a pickup truck in the Highland Park area, authorities said.

The train was southbound when it collided with the pickup at 7:54 a.m. in the 100 block of North Avenue 55, said Metro's Jose Ubaldo. According to a witness, the truck may have run a red light, he said.

Firefighters freed the driver of the pickup, and paramedics took him to a hospital in critical condition, said d'Lisa Davies of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

A half-dozen people on the train -- four passengers, the train's operator and a sheriff's deputy -- complained of neck and back pain, Ubaldo said.

Rail service was interrupted until 1:30 p.m., he said.


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• LAFD_Alert
  
• Pictures of the accident in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune
  

Gold Line Kills Man in Highland Park

As reported on the LAFD Blog

Gold Line Takes Child's Limb because MTA was Too Cheap to Build a Fence

Freeway wreck involving commuter train kills three in Pasadena

Associated Press
August 12, 2004

PASADENA, Calif. - An automobile rolled over on a freeway Thursday, killing three people and injuring three others, including a boy who was hurled onto adjacent commuter rail tracks where a train severed one of his legs, authorities said.

The boy was in critical condition and two other surviving victims had major head injuries and broken bones, said Lisa Derdarian of the Pasadena Fire Department. Two others were hospitalized for emotional distress, she added. The identities of the victims were not immediately released.

The accident occurred about 10:10 a.m. on the Foothill Freeway. The Metro Gold Line light rail track runs down the median, separated from the east- and westbound lanes of the freeway by fences.

Two people died at the scene and a third was pronounced dead at a hospital, Derdarian said. No one on the train was hurt but service to and from the Pasadena terminal station was halted for about an hour, said Marc Littman, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Passengers had to use a station about a mile away, he said.

Pasadena is 16 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.