LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (February 23, 2017) –Two people were injured when an Amtrak train collided with a vehicle Friday evening in North Hills. (map)
At 8:59 p.m., the driver and passenger of the vehicle were driving westbound towards the train tracks in the 16500 block of Roscoe Boulevard, near Hayvenhurst Avenue. According to a news article, the driver was weaving down the road and the gate arms were dropping down as the Amtrak train was approaching. The vehicle crashed into one of the railroad gates at the Roscoe Boulevard crossing, just before landing on the train tracks. Witnesses at the scene indicated that the driver may have suffered a medical emergency prior to landing on the train tracks. Several witnesses on the scene of the accident heroically helped pull the driver and passenger out of the car before the train struck the car. Initial reports indicate that the police were unsuccessful in their attempt to bring the train to a halt. There were no injured reports of passengers or crew members aboard the train. The train, No.796, was heading south and able to continue its destination from San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles.
Railroad companies have until the end of 2018 to install PTC on their tracks according to federal law, or they may be granted an extension until 2020 in some cases. The lack of PTC has been a major point of investigation in December’s Washington State Amtrak derailment, as many rail experts have stated it could have prevented the derailment entirely, or greatly reduced the number of casualties. If PTC was installed and activated on the section of tracks involved in Friday’s accident, it may have been able to stop or slow the train enough to avoid the collision with the vehicle. It is unclear whether or not regular maintenance of the gate arms had been regularly conducted.
Friday’s accident remains under investigation by the NTSB, whose investigations can take up to two years in some cases. Details are still slowly coming out, and HWG Law will continue to investigate this accident.
“The prayers of everyone at HWG Law Firm are with the families and friends of those injured in this accident. Our firm deals with train accidents, and our attorneys have knowledge of railroad related accidents,” said the attorneys from HWG Law Firm. Call us today at (877) 541-2111. We are here to help you.
