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California Firefighter Saves Driver Seconds Before Crash
OXNARD, Calif. — A California firefighter pulled a trapped driver from his disabled pickup just seconds before a commuter train slammed into the truck Thursday morning.
The pickup wound up on the tracks after colliding with a sport utility vehicle. At about 5:30 a.m. Thursday, a firefighter was inside the pickup trying to free the driver, and another firefighter was outside the vehicle, Oxnard Fire Department spokeswoman Deborah O'Malia said.
Then the rail signals started flashing and crossing guards dropped down over the accident scene.
O'Malia said the firefighters freed the driver just seconds before the train hit.
"They managed to pull this guy out. They would have been killed," O'Malia said.
The train struck the pickup, which flipped into air and landed in a gully.
"They were lucky they didn't get hit by the truck," O'Malia said.
The Metrolink train stopped and remained at the scene for more than an hour while investigators examined the wreckage. Metrolink spokesman Francisco Oaxaca said no one on the train was hurt and that train and a second Los Angeles-bound train were delayed 90 minutes.
Ambulances took the injured SUV driver and pickup driver to nearby St. John's Regional Medical Center. O'Malia said their injuries were not life threatening.
The names of the firefighters and crash victims weren't disclosed.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The pickup wound up on the tracks after colliding with a sport utility vehicle. At about 5:30 a.m. Thursday, a firefighter was inside the pickup trying to free the driver, and another firefighter was outside the vehicle, Oxnard Fire Department spokeswoman Deborah O'Malia said.
Then the rail signals started flashing and crossing guards dropped down over the accident scene.
O'Malia said the firefighters freed the driver just seconds before the train hit.
"They managed to pull this guy out. They would have been killed," O'Malia said.
The train struck the pickup, which flipped into air and landed in a gully.
"They were lucky they didn't get hit by the truck," O'Malia said.
The Metrolink train stopped and remained at the scene for more than an hour while investigators examined the wreckage. Metrolink spokesman Francisco Oaxaca said no one on the train was hurt and that train and a second Los Angeles-bound train were delayed 90 minutes.
Ambulances took the injured SUV driver and pickup driver to nearby St. John's Regional Medical Center. O'Malia said their injuries were not life threatening.
The names of the firefighters and crash victims weren't disclosed.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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Warning bells at the train crossing started ringing and the crossing arms began to drop while firefighters worked to free the injured man from the truck on the tracks, said Oxnard Fire Department spokeswoman Deborah O’Malia.
Firefighter Guillermo Garay was helping to free the injured man from the truck and Firefighter Graham Dunbar was in the truck behind the man, holding his head to protect his spine, when they saw the train approaching, O’Malia said.
“Both firefighters immediately grabbed the patient, dragged him out of the vehicle and basically got feet away when the train collided with the truck that was on the tracks,” O’Malia said. ( Read the entire story. )
See the video... Click here.
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Permalink Reply by Wayne on
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So, I guess we need to ask, did Oxnard FD contact dispatch and request that all rail traffic on that line be stopped? Did the dispatcher pass it to the railroad? Did the railroad dispatcher pass it to the trains on that line?
It may have just been the timing worked against them all in this instance, but I think these are considerations that need to be thought of anytime we are working on railroad tracks..................
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