Blue Line Kills Elder & Critically Injures Teenager on Same Day in Separate Accidents

L.B. Woman, 75, Dies After Her Car Struck by Blue Line Train

Long Beach Press-Telegram
Kelly Puente
April 7, 2008

LONG BEACH - A 75-year-old Long Beach woman was killed in a car accident on Monday after she allegedly made an illegal left-hand turn in her vehicle and collided with a Metro Blue Line train. The woman was driving southbound on Long Beach Boulevard at about 1:15 p.m. when she attempted to make an illegal left-hand turn onto Third Street, which is a one-way street, said Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Nancy Pratt.

A train heading south on the boulevard plowed into the driver's side of her green Toyota sedan. Pratt said the woman suffered major internal injuries from the impact. Capt. Mike DuRee of the Long Beach Fire Department said the victim was unconscious and having trouble breathing when paramedics arrived. She was transported to St. Mary Medical Center, where she died a short time later. Her name was released Monday pending notification of family.

Witnesses said it looked as if the woman had not been paying attention. "I was standing on the corner (of Long Beach Boulevard and Third) talking on my phone when I heard the bang," said witness Andreas Hernandez. "You could feel the force of the impact through the air."

Authorities had closed off Long Beach Boulevard from Broadway to Fourth Street as they investigated the accident scene and passengers on the train were being let off. Signal Hill resident Belinda Maxin was on the train when she felt the the conductor slam on the brakes suddenly. Maxin, like many passengers, had to walk the rest of the way to the bus and train stations on First Street.

The incident was the second involving a Metro train on Monday. A young man apparently struck by a Metro Blue Line train south of downtown Los Angeles was taken to a hospital in critical condition, authorities said. Paramedics sent to Grand Avenue and Washington Boulevard about 8:30 a.m. found the man lying next to the train, which had stopped, said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The man was treated for head, arm and pelvis injuries, Humphrey said.

kelly.puente@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1305. City News Service contributed to this report.

Also:

• LAist reports the young man critically injured a 19-year old Trade Tech student
  

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.

Blue Line Injures Elderly Motorist at Venice

Man, 71, Injured When Car, Blue Line Train Collide

KCBS-TV
June 14, 2007

LOS ANGELES ― A Metro Blue Line train and a vehicle collided Thursday near downtown Los Angeles, slightly injuring the 71-year-old man driving the vehicle, according to a fire official.

The collision was reported at 8:38 a.m. near Venice Boulevard and South Flower Street, according to Ron Myers of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The driver of the vehicle was treated at the scene for minor arm pains, Myers said.

Blue Line Kills 17 and 27 Year Old and Leaves 7 Year Old in Critical Condition

2 Killed, 2 Injured in Car Hit by Train

Los Angeles Times
By Nancy Cleeland
August 21, 2006

A man and his sister were killed and his 7-year-old son was critically injured Sunday morning when the man turned their car in front of a Blue Line train near downtown Los Angeles and the vehicle was dragged half a block along the tracks, police said.

The siblings’ grandmother, 68, who was in the back seat, was being treated at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center for chest pains, said Det. Josephine Mapson of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The driver was identified as Cesar Herrera, 27, of Los Angeles. His sister, Maria A. Herrera, was 17. Police did not identify the survivors.

Six of the 92 passengers on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority train were treated for minor injuries and released, Mapson said.

Both the car and the train, which runs at street level along the center of Washington Boulevard, were traveling east. The train’s operator told police that he saw a maroon Mazda stopped in the left-turn lane ahead of him at the intersection of Maple Avenue. Just as the train was about to pass, the traffic light turned green for through traffic but the left-turn arrow remained red.

Nevertheless, the Mazda driver turned left in front of the train, and the car was struck and pushed 162 feet east.

Mapson said the driver may have misread the traffic signal, which also has a box with flashing lights indicating an approaching train.

Los Angeles Fire Department personnel cut away the roof of the smashed car to remove the boy and his great-grandmother.

“I’ve been here 4 1/2 years and I’ve lost count of the number of accidents I’ve seen with this train,” said fire Battalion Chief Ray Gomez.


2 die when car collides with Blue Line train

Daily Breeze
August 21, 2006

Two people were killed and two other people, including a 7-year- old boy, were critically injured Sunday when the vehicle they were in collided with a Blue Line train in downtown Los Angeles, a fire official said.

The crash was reported at Maple Avenue and Washington Boulevard shortly after 9 a.m., said Brian Ballton of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

A 25-year-old man, who was driving, and his 17-year-old sister, were pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

A 55-year-old woman and the 7-year-old boy were taken to Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center in critical condition, he said.

Witnesses told KABC Channel 7 it appeared the man tried to make a left turn in front of the train.

About 50 people were on the train, and six were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, Ballton said.

According to KCBS Channel 2, it's the third crash involving an MTA Blue Line train in eight days.

On Aug. 13, a Blue Line train collided with a car at Flower Street and Pico Boulevard downtown, injuring the driver of a Honda, his passenger and several rail passengers.

Two days ago, a woman suffered minor injuries when she tried to make a turn in front of a Blue Line train near Flower Street and Venice Boulevard and was struck.


Two Dead, Eight Injured After Car Crashes Into MTA Train

KABC-TV
August 20, 2006

LOS ANGELES - Two people were killed and two others, including a 7- year-old boy, were critically injured Sunday when the vehicle they were in crashed into an MTA Blue Line train, a fire official said.

Of the 50 people on the train which was hit near downtown Los Angeles, six were transported to area hospitals with minor injuries, said Los Angeles City fire spokesperson Brian Ballton.

Fire personnel were dispatched to the scene of the crash in the area of Maple Avenue and Washington Boulevard at 9:03 a.m., Ballton said.

The 40-year-old male driver and the front seat passenger, a 40-year-old woman, were pronounced dead at the scene. The other occupants, a 55- year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy, were transported to Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center in critical condition.

A description of the vehicle involved in the crash was not immediately available, Ballton said.


Also:

• Post on the LAFD Blog mentions the 7-year old boy's name is Anthony
• Pictures from the accident are on the LAFD Flickr page
  

Car Hit by Blue Line Ricochets into Another

7 Suffer Minor Injuries When Train Hits Car

Los Angeles Times
By John L. Mitchell
December 23, 1999

An automobile drove around a closed crossing gate and was struck by a Metro Blue Line train Wednesday in Watts, resulting in minor injuries to seven people, an MTA official said.

The crash occurred about 11:08 a.m. as the southbound train traveled through the three-sided intersection at 114th Street and Wilmington and Willowbrook avenues, said Gary Wosk of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The train was preparing to stop at the upcoming Imperial / Wilmington station when an elderly man drove his car around the crossing gate, Wosk said. The train operator was 90 feet away when he noticed the car and applied his emergency brakes, but the train clipped the car's right rear, sending it about 100 feet down Wilmington Avenue, where it rear-ended another auto.

Five people on the train complained of neck and back pain, and four were taken to hospitals, Wosk said. The drivers of both cars also suffered minor injuries and were treated.

The accident caused a 40-minute disruption of service.

Since 1992, there have been nine accidents between cars and Blue Line trains, including four fatalities, along that stretch of Wilmington Avenue that includes at least three intersections. Since the Blue Line opened in 1990, there have been 53 fatalities in accidents involving cars and pedestrians, Wosk said.

Blue Line Hits Two in Same Day

L.A. Train Accidents Injure 2

Sacramento Bee
July 11, 1995

STATE DIGEST

A pedestrian and motorist were injured in accidents involving Metro Blue Line commuter trains Monday, authorities said.

The pedestrian was identified only as a woman, about 60, who was in serious to critical condition after being struck by a Blue Line train, said Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells.

She was hospitalized at California Medical Center.

Earlier, a Blue Line train collided with a car that turned in front of it, police said.

The man was in critical but stable condition at County-USC Medical Center after surgery, said spokesman Harvey Kern.

Blue Line at 10 mph Kills Elderly Couple

2 Killed as Car Goes Through Traffic Signal and Collides With Blue Line Train

Los Angeles Times
December 18, 1992

Two people were killed Thursday night when their car collided with a Blue Line commuter train in Long Beach, authorities said.

RTD spokesman Jim Smart said the accident occurred about 7 p.m. when the car failed to stop at a traffic signal and was struck by the train as it approached a station near 1st Street and Pine Avenue.

Smart said the victims, whose identities were not immediately available, were an elderly man and woman. The male driver of the car was pronounced dead at St. Mary's Hospital in Long Beach. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

Authorities said the train had slowed to 10 m.p.h. in preparation for a stop at the Transit Mall Station, near the southern terminus of the commuter line. The impact crushed the car against the station platform, RTD officials said.

Mother of 11 Walking to Church is First Killed by Blue Line

Blue Line Train Kills Woman, 66, Crossing Tracks Accident
Mother of 11 becomes first fatality since new commuter light rail line opened in July

Los Angeles Times
By Bettina Boxall

September 21, 1990

A Watts woman became the first fatality on the new light rail line between Los Angeles and Long Beach when she was struck by a train Wednesday evening while crossing the tracks at an intersection within sight of her house.

Rosa Ceballos, 66, was on her way to church at about 5:30 p.m. when she was hit head-on by a southbound, Blue Line train traveling at full speed through the crossing at Century Boulevard and South Graham Avenue, authorities said.

Witnesses gave conflicting accounts of the accident, some insisting the warning lights and gates were not operating when the train entered the intersection and others saying they were.

"She walked right into the train. The arms were down. The red lights were blinking," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Sharon Madison, who was on the train as part of a routine security patrol.

Madison emphatically dismissed reports that the line's warning signals had not worked as they should.

"That's not true," she said. "I don't know if she didn't hear it. I don't know if she didn't see it or saw it and panicked.

"We were passing Century Boulevard," the sergeant continued. "The train was beginning to brake and we didn't know why. The driver was laying on the horn. We looked out the window to see what the problem was and I saw her (the victim) bouncing along the train."

The train stopped just beyond the intersection and Madison said she ran back to find Ceballos on top of the tracks.

The mother of 11, Ceballos died a short time later at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, which built the 19-mile-long line.

The accident-which disrupted service for about 45 minutes-was the most serious on the line since it opened with much fanfare in July.

"This just absolutely stunned us," said Stephanie Brady, the commission's media relations director. "I don't understand why she didn't heed the warning signs. We're confident we made every possible allowance-noise, lights, horns-to warn of coming trains."

Brady said there have been a few minor brushes between cars and trains since the system got under way. A teen-ager lost several toes while playing a game of "dare" with a train near downtown Los Angeles in late July.

Wednesday's fatality will be investigated by both Los Angeles police and the Southern California Rapid Transit District, which operates the system.

Ceballos, who attended church almost daily, lived with one of her children in the 9900 block of South Graham Avenue just a few feet behind another family house that faces the light rail tracks. As twilight fell Wednesday, family members stood in the dusty front yard, tears wetting their faces.

"A little boy, he told me, your mother is over there," said one of Ceballos' sons, Magdaleno Barrientos. He went to the tracks to find out what happened. "And they (authorities) say, `Stay over there.' "

A granddaughter said that Ceballos had neither hearing nor sight problems.

Several people who said they saw the accident maintained that the warning gates lining both sides of the crossing did not come down until after the train stopped.

"The gates weren't down. The horns weren't blowing at all," said Clara Domingo, who was getting into her car when Ceballos was struck nearby.

But on the other side of the tracks, Manuel Jaramillio, a security guard at an apartment complex, backed up Madison's account.

"The gates were down. The lights were going. The driver was blowing his horn. I was wondering if she was going to take that chance," said Jaramillio, who regularly watches the sleek new cars as they whisk between Los Angeles and Long Beach at 55 m.p.h.

Jaramillio said he often sees pedestrians take risks at the crossing.

"They like to play tag, it seems," he said.

While wooden gates block the path of cars when a train passes through the Century and Graham intersection, there is room for pedestrians to walk by the gates and past warning lights and bells onto the four tracks, which carry both freight trains and the Blue Line cars.