South of Hanford Amtrak Train Derailment Accident: Update
An investigation into the Amtrak train accident that happened on Monday has thus far been partially inconclusive in regards as to why the driver of a big rig transporting cotton trash failed to yield to a passing passenger train. He cannot explain to the community why he drove through the flashing crossing gate at the California farming community. It seems like the passengers in the accident will need to contact their train accident lawyer.
According to California Highway Patrol spokesman Jerry Pierce, the driver of the truck is 32-year-old named Macario Medina of McFarland who was driving at speeds of up to 55 miles per hour when he hit the train in Hanford. The investigation was able to determine that Medina struck the locomotive first, which was the last in line that was pushing four passenger cars at speeds of up to 80 mph.
New news reports state that along with Medina at least 39 people on the train were hurt, almost twice of what was originally reported here.
Medina, according to what Pierce told the Fresno Bee, was not impaired at the time of the crash. The truck driver was unable to explain why he drove through the crossing sign, however.
Here’s the original story:
A big rig truck transporting cotton trash allegedly caused an Amtrak train transporting 169 passengers to be derailed in California’s Central Valley on Monday. At least twenty passengers were injured according to authorities, at least thirteen were hospitalized.
At about 12:25 p.m. a train that was on its way from Oakland to Bakersfield with four rail cars and a locomotive was reported to have crashed off the south of Hanford tracks. A tractor-trailer that was transporting cotton trash failed to yield and hit the train. The driver of the truck was allegedly radioed about the danger of the oncoming train according to FOX 6 at a crossing that is equipped with gates to stop automobile traffic.
Upon impact, two passenger trains and the locomotive of the train were derailed after traveling 600 feet after the collision and slamming into a switchback near the farming town.
California Highway Patrol Officer Scott Harris told Redding.com that officials have not yet determined the exact velocity of the train. Amtrak train speeds throughout the area at a velocity that ranges from 70 through 80 miles per hour, speed limits on the roadway next to the tracks for big rigs are 55 mph.
Investigators found metal remnants of the big rig inside the cotton seed covered train after the crash. Scattered throughout the scene were various pieces of luggage that had escaped from the inside of the train.
Dave Putnam, King County Assistant Sheriff said that the amount of injuries ranged from bumps, bruises and scrapes to possibly broken bones. The closer they were to the source of impact, the worse the injuries were.
Paramedics transported eight of the injured passengers to Adventist Medical Center in Hanford and five more were expected, hospital spokeswoman Christine Pickering told Redding. The medical center had to call another batch of staff to help assist with the injured people. She did not provide specific details of the victim’s injuries. Some of the victims had to be taken to the Adventist Medical Center in Selma and seven others were transported to the Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno.
California Highway Patrol spokesman Jerry Pierce said that the truck driver suffered minor injuries. Investigators will make an attempt to determine what caused the crash. There is a possibility that the crash was caused by driver error, a malfunctioning crossing arm, or something else, the CHP said.
“This is a big, huge chaotic scene with lots of agencies involved,” Pierce said.
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If you or a loved one have been victims of a train accident crash and have been injured, contact The Consumers’ Law Group, they specialize in negotiating appropriate compensation for their clients.