THey said it was a city truck. You would think they would know better.

 

Driver of truck survived, ran from scene, was apprehended.

No fatalities. Big mess, though.

Pop

 

I was at the corner of Del Norte and Camino del Sol at 5:55am when an OXN PD car zooms around me headed toward the tracks. My office is 1/3 mile from the accident site. Sirens for a full 45 mins as Ambulances come and go. What a mess; poor passengers on the train, must have been a surreal experience. Semi - Tankers stopped by at 10am to drain the diesel (do those guys hang out like vultures? There were 4 of 'em trolling the neighborhood). I walked around the block around noon (I usually do that to clear my brain of office politics) and had to watch traffic closely at crosswalks, seems everyone was in a rush to get around the big detour and were pissed by the inconvenience of it all.

 

Wonder what that truck driver was thinking? First to cause the crash, then to run. You are driving a government vehicle, unless you stole it, I am sure there is a record of who is in the truck and at what time. LOL.

Jim

 

Apparently it was not a government truck. According to two local L.A. TV newscasts, it was maintenance-type F-450 from Arizona, pulling a trailer.

Driver has been charged with felony hit-n-run according to one of those TV stations.
Truck Driver Taken Into Custody on Suspicion of Felony Hit-and-Run in Metrolink Crash | KTLA

Pop

 

Disoriented is right, how do you get a few yards down the RR track before you realize, This is not a street? Backing up a heavy trailer on gravel didn't work. Why not stick around and take responsibility.... maybe help a victim or 28?

 

S'more details from the truck drivers point of view.

Driver of truck arrested; four critical - Ventura County Star

Seems strange he would walk 1.5 miles in search of help when there were other cars nearby with cell phones and many fluent in espanol... and forgot about the phone in his own pocket.


Never mind he's walking N. on Rice and saw many PD, ambulance, FD etc. driving South on his 1.5 mile trek. Why not flag one of 'em down?

 

I didn't know your office was out that way, Sean.


The aerial HD images of the scene were striking! You could really see a lot of detail. How the rail cars skidded, and even where one of them finally tipped, after the wheels had skidded through the dirt for most of the distance. It was clear to me immediately that it was a utility bed type truck, while the talking news heads were still saying "tractor trailer". Obviously it was not an 18 wheeler type rig. Did you notice the engine sitting loose a few yards from the utility bed?


One theory was that he intended to turn on the street paralleling the tracks, but hit the RR right of way instead. I was onboard with that, because in dark unfamiliar areas, I have almost missed roads in the same way. Add sleep filled eyes in the early morning, and I can see that happening innocently enough. But this morning they are saying he was 80 yards down the tracks. I guess once you're stuck, progress in any direction feels better than just sitting. I kinda feel for the guy, if it turns out to be an honest mistake. But there is no excuse for fleeing on foot. There is way too much of this hit and run crap going on the last few years.

 

By last night at 6:15, I could see porta lights set up 5 miles away from Camarillo airport. They musta worked all night on the tracks; traffic was back across the track on Rice Ave. and I kept hearing a train horn sound this afternoon. Likely the rail replacement or QA Team.



One less 6.0?

 

That is amazing.

Jim

 

What is amazing, is that with all that automation, they still need a humanoid sitting there inserting plastic spacers.

 

I've been watching the Gold Line extension in Monrovia and Duarte. And being stuck in the traffic jams that result. Lots of interesting equipment.

My beefs:

--why are we building level grade crossings? (I know, money money money) Seems to me it ought to be a national transportation priority to elimnate as many as possible.

--how did the Germans rebuild their railroads overnight after a bombing, yet it takes Kiewit 6 months to do an intersection?

 

Hey, that's a protected job!


Just read another piece of the puzzle:


(Sanchez-Ramirez, 54, of Yuma, Arizona, didn't call authorities because he was "in shock" and didn't even realize he had a phone on him, Bamieh said. Ramirez only speaks Spanish, and two people he encountered could not understand him, the lawyer said.

Federal investigators said preliminary reports countered remarks by officials immediately after the crash that the truck got stuck on the tracks.

"It was not stuck, it was not bottomed out on the track or something like that," National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said at a media briefing late Tuesday.

"We're very concerned about that, we're very interested in it," he said, adding that both the badly wrecked truck's emergency brake and high-beams headlights were on.

Police said they tested Sanchez-Ramirez for drugs and alcohol but would not discuss the results.

Criminal records in his home state of Arizona show Sanchez-Ramirez pleaded guilty in 1998 to a host of violations in a single DUI case, including driving with a blood-alcohol content above .08 percent - the legal limit in the state - failure to obey a police officer, having liquor with a "minor on the premises" and having no insurance, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.)




Would a stuck truck with spinning dual rear tires leave some evidence on the gravel, ties?

Quote:

Originally Posted by r2millers

Kinda wonder how these happen still, especially with light traffic at 5:00 a.m. hour.

Bob, it's a zoo there at 5:45am with all the factory jobs starting at 6am. Many times I'll wait for 10-15 cars to pass before I can make a left onto my worksite. Seems strawberry picking starts just before sunrise.

 

52 Cubs, oh what a night! Blue and Gold celebration.

 

I remember the Blue and Gold!

Much water under bridge since.....

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