Earlier today, a tragic accident involving a truck and a Metrolink train left 28 people injured. Four experienced serious injuries. According to The Los Angeles Times, the driver involved in the accident attempted to evade officers but was later taken into custody.

The accident happened as the train was traveling at about 79 mph. As the train approached the crossing at Rice Avenue and 5th Street, the engineer spotted a fiery truck ahead. As soon as he could, he stepped on the brakes, but his quick response wasn’t enough to keep the train from hitting the fiery truck. As a result, four train cars ended up derailing.

Four people ended up being rushed to the hospital. They were critically injured. Out of the fifty-one passengers on board, 28 were taken to the hospital. Twenty-three did not suffer any personal injury.

According to the publication, some of the impacted passengers suffered head trauma, back and neck injuries and even broken limbs.

Train Engineer Also Sustained Injuries

The reports show that the engineer who attempted to avoid the accident was not able to escape without any injuries.  The driver who was responsible for leaving the fiery truck near the train tracks initially fled the scene of the accident. Later, officials were able to track the man down a couple of miles away. The truck driver is now under custody of the authorities.

As soon as the accident took place, multiple emergency units were called to the scene. Out of the four cars that derailed, three had been fitted with certain equipments designed to absorb shock and redistribute the impact in order to prevent passenger injuries.

This particular crash will be under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Several safety experts have been urging regulators to increase regulation concerning train safety. Agent officials are currently gathering information to have the investigation sped up.

This is not the first time a similar collision in Southern California. In 2008, a Metrolink commuter train crashed with a Union Pacific freight train. While these accidents do not happen often, they often claim lives. The 2008 accident resulted in the death of 25 people. Several injuries were also reported.

Metrolink has been pushing new technologies to avoid accidents and protect passengers. Last year, the company started making use of a state-of-the-art safety system that is used in certain stretches of its 512-mile network.

If you would like to know more about this tragic accident, follow this link for the full article.