Crash With Train Hurts Driver : Accident: Station wagon rams through crossing gate and collides with Metrolink train in the first mishap on new line from Irvine to Riverside.

A motorist was critically injured early Wednesday when his station wagon rammed through a crossing gate and collided with a train on the new Metrolink line connecting Irvine to Riverside.

The crash was the first mishap involving Metrolink’s Inland Empire-Orange County Line, which opened six weeks ago as the nation’s first suburb-to-suburb rail line.

The accident occurred when the driver apparently tried to beat the train at a crossing near the Orange station, Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo said.

“He was not successful,” Hidalgo said. “We had crossing arms, lights that flash and bells that ring and everything was working properly. The engineer did everything he was supposed to do.”

William Wilson, 43, of Hesperia was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was reported in critical condition Wednesday.

The driver had made a right turn from Orange Olive Road onto a westbound lane of Lincoln Avenue seconds before the 7:45 a.m. crash, according to the California Highway Patrol. Investigators did not know how fast Wilson was driving but said he did not appear to be speeding.

The station wagon slammed into the side of the train, then spun 180 degrees into a control box along the tracks, CHP spokesman Mike Lundquist said.

“Apparently, he didn’t stop at all,” Lundquist said.

Chris Nance, 23, a service technician at the nearby C.C.c.c. Heating & Air Conditioning shop, said he rushed outside to find a vehicle “smashed up” against a pole.

The driver “was knocked all the way over to the passenger side of the car,” Nance said. “His head was sticking out of the windows. . . . From the looks of the car, he is lucky to be alive.”

The Metrolink train was en route to Irvine at about 50 m.p.h.--almost 30 m.p.h. less than its authorized speed at the intersection--with 250 passengers on board, Hidalgo said. When the engineer saw the station wagon, he blew the whistle repeatedly and came to an emergency stop, but there was not enough time or distance to avoid the accident, the spokesman said.

“The type of impact is like you or I standing on a soda pop can and pressing it,” Hidalgo said. “We’re talking about a 400-ton train striking a vehicle, which weighs less than one ton. As you can see, there’s no winning when a vehicle is going against a train.”

None of the passengers or crew members on the train were injured, but they were delayed for about an hour, authorities said.

Last year, 13 people died in eight accidents involving Metrolink trains in Los Angeles, Ventura and Riverside counties, Metrolink officials said. During the same period, he said, six people--including one in Orange County--committed suicide by throwing themselves in front of Metrolink trains.

All of the accidents resulted from motorists illegally crossing train tracks or pedestrians walking along them, Hidalgo said.

“Metrolink, in every incident, has been where it’s supposed to be, which was on the track,” he said. “Our engineers have, in every case, blown the whistle and come to an emergency stop.”

As a result of the fatal incidents, the train company introduced 10- to 30-second television spots throughout Southern California on the theme of “Don’t pick a fight with a heavyweight--tracks are for trains; stay away and stay alive.”

Metrolink officials credit the educational efforts with helping to reduce the number of deaths this year: So far there have been seven accidental fatalities and one suicide. None happened in Orange County.

“Many people think it’s OK to walk on or drive next to the railroad tracks,” Hidalgo said. “We’re saying, no, it’s private property and you should expect a train from [either] direction at any time.”

Times staff writer David Haldane contributed to this report.