CLEVELAND, February 25 — The BLET Safety Task Force has been dispatched to assist the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) with the investigation of a collision involving a Metrolink passenger train and a motor vehicle in Oxnard, Calif.
The accident occurred around 5:45 a.m. yesterday about 65 miles north of Los Angeles. According to media reports, approximately 28 people were injured including the train””s locomotive engineer. His injuries are considered critical. Preliminary media reports indicate the passenger train, which was carrying 48 passengers and three crew members, collided with a truck that had been abandoned on the tracks. According to media reports, the truck””s driver apparently fled the scene and was found several miles away.
Brother Carl W. Fields, Coordinator of the BLET Safety Task Force, reports that STF Primary Investigators Mike Galvani, BLET Division 664 (San Luis Obispo, Calif), and Oscar Burrola, Division 839 (Richmond, Calif.), are on scene representing BLET during the investigation. Brother Galvani is serving as BLET’s Party Spokesman.
The BLET Safety Task Force assists federal agencies in the investigation of rail accidents, helping to determine probable causes and making safety recommendations. The STF will study the accident from the viewpoint of locomotive engineers and trainmen to help determine how the accident occurred and how to prevent similar accidents from happening in the future.
The BLET has been granted Party Status by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to assist with this accident investigation. As a result, the BLET will defer all media inquiries to the NTSB, which will handle the release of information as the on-site investigation unfolds.