GLENDALE : Train Wrecks Truck Parked on Tracks

An Amtrak train slammed into an 18-wheel diesel truck parked on a rail crossing Monday morning, throwing the wrecked vehicle from the tracks while the driver looked on, police said.

The driver had gotten out of the truck at the Doran Street railroad crossing in Glendale at about 10 a.m. to argue with a transient who was blocking the road with a shopping cart, said police spokesman Chahe Keuroghelian.

The driver hadn’t noticed the train, which hit the truck’s cab at 79 m.p.h., separating it from two rear trailers and throwing it 40 feet from the tracks. The truck was carrying 40 tons of gravel.

“This could have been a major disaster,” Keuroghelian said. “If the train had struck one of those compartments carrying the gravel, most likely we would have had a train derailment.”

No one was injured, and after a brief stop, the train continued on its route to Union Station in Los Angeles, officials said. The train sustained only superficial damage.

The truck driver, who was not identified, was not charged in the incident.

But police are seeking the transient on suspicion of assault for allegedly throwing a rock at the driver during the argument, hitting him in the left eyebrow and causing a minor injury. Police said the transient, a Latino in his mid-20s to early 30s known as “Grigorio,” frequents the area near the train tracks in Glendale.