7 Hurt in Train Crash With Truck

Despite a state police escort, a truck carrying a huge, $1.5-million oil refinery condenser became stuck on a train track and was hit by a Metrolink train, injuring seven people, authorities said Friday.

A second Metrolink train heading for downtown Los Angeles made an emergency stop and came within 50 feet of striking debris from the crash on a companion track, authorities said.

The driver of the oversized truck made a wrong turn and bottomed out on the tracks, where the 110,000-pound load was struck, according to the California Highway Patrol. The driver could not be reached for comment.

The truck’s route was designed specifically to avoid train tracks. Despite that, the truck was hit when it was retracing its path, crossing the heavily traveled tracks a second time.

“It appears [the truck caravan] was not following the route [it was] supposed to. Officers had to turn them around more than once,” said Spike Helmick, CHP commissioner.

The train engineer and conductor and five passengers sustained minor injuries. The truck driver, Arron Bellmyer, who was attempting to free the truck from the tracks, was unhurt in the 6 a.m. accident at Grandview Avenue and San Fernando Road. The truck’s cargo was completely destroyed.

The rig had traveled 20 days from Texas without mishap before it arrived in Glendale. Its destination was a refinery in El Segundo.

The truck followed a lead vehicle, specially equipped with an antenna to judge the height of overpasses. Helmick said that during escorts, the CHP routinely avoids train tracks and keeps oversized trucks from getting caught in the middle of intersections.

“Our purpose is to shut down roads and that trucks don’t get hit,” Helmick said.

The CHP was operating under contract to escort the truck, which is affiliated with Houston-based company Mercury Transportation Inc.

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According to Helmick, the truck was supposed to turn south onto San Fernando Road from Grandview Avenue. He said officers were blocking traffic so the truck could make the turn.

Instead, the driver went straight across the tracks, which parallel San Fernando Road.

CHP officers then instructed the driver to turn around and cross the tracks a second time, Helmick said.

“The pilot car is responsible [for previewing] the route and lead[ing] the truck to the proper road,” Helmick said. “We jump on it and correct it. The officers have done just what they’re supposed to.”

The truck had permits for traveling through state freeways, Los Angeles County and various cities, but Helmick wasn’t sure if its permit for driving through Glendale was valid.

“There will be a lot of things this truck company will have to answer to,” Helmick said.

The impact of the 79-mph collision ripped the trailer from the cab and dragged it a quarter-mile down the track.

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Sgt. Rick Young of the Glendale Police Department said a Glendale officer put out flares along the track to alert other trains.

Metrolink spokesman Francisco Oaxaca said the engineer of the first train radioed ahead to warn the second southbound train, which stopped about six minutes after the accident.

Oaxaca said southbound trains usually carry about 300 passengers, and he estimated that the debris would have caused a “significant” impact.

The northbound train had left Los Angeles and was headed for Burbank when it hit the truck. The three-car train carried six passengers, he said.

The engineer, Melanie Elder, became trapped in the train after the crash, and it took Glendale firefighters about 15 minutes to get her out, authorities said.

Northbound train service was interrupted and passengers heading to Los Angeles from Oxnard and Lancaster experienced two-hour delays, Oaxaca said. Affected passengers were bused to Metrolink’s Burbank and Glendale stations, he said. Metrolink’s southbound tracks were opened at noon and northbound tracks were opened at 1 p.m.

Investigations were underway Friday by Metrolink, the CHP and Glendale police.