Union Pacific crash leaves two injuredPublished: September 10, 2010
| FONTANA, Calif. — Union Pacific is investigating an apparent rear-end collision on its Alhambra Subdivision roughly five miles west of West Colton yard at around 11:55 p.m. last night. One train’s engineer and conductor have been taken to a local hospital, with media reports indicating the engineer’s arm was amputated in an effort to extract him from the locomotive. The Associated Press has reported both trains involved in the collision were traveling westward on the West Colton-Los Angeles main line when the incident occurred. Apparently the first of the two westbound trains was traveling more slowly than the second, and the second train struck the first train’s last car. Photos show the second train’s lead UP locomotive resting atop a gondola loaded with steel I-beams, which apparently crushed the second train’s lead locomotive’s nose, necessitating the extrication. The engineer is expected to survive, though he’s reportedly in critical condition. The conductor sustained moderate injuries. The Alhambra Subdivision, linking Colton, Calif., and Los Angeles, is dispatched with centralized traffic control, a signaling system that would have given the engineer of the second train a red signal prior to the crash, assuming it was functioning properly. No hazardous materials leaked in the wreck. |
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