300 Evacuate in Another Derailment

A Union Pacific freight train carrying chlorine gas and other hazardous chemicals derailed between a mobile home park and a housing tract in San Bernardino late Monday night, sparking the evacuation of more than 300 residents, authorities said.

The derailment is the fourth in the last month in Southern California and comes at a time when some local officials have been pushing for ways to make freight service safer.

Somes residents said they heard a roar and then felt their homes shudder from the impact of rail cars striking the ground.

Thirteen cars, seven carrying hazardous materials including liquid propane and cleaning solutions, fell off the tracks in a deep rail ravine near the intersection of South Meridian and Rialto avenues at 8:17 p.m. No injuries were reported, and hazardous-waste crews found no initial evidence of a chemical spill, although they continued to investigate that possibility.

The cause was under investigation.

“We still don’t know what happened,” said San Bernardino Police Sgt. Lee Chennault. “A lady in a mobile home park nearby said she heard a loud crash and then saw a lot of smoke.”

The rail cars sprawled in a zigzag pattern at the bottom of the ravine. Police spent several hours evacuating residents from the trailer park and a housing tract. They also blocked traffic in the area.

Initial reports suggested that the train had struck a car, but police said that information was wrong.

“None of the train’s engines came off the tracks,” Chennault said. “And there’s really no way a car can get down there.”

Resident Luis Pedrizco held his 19-month-old son, Francisco, as he and scores of other evacuees from the Sequoia Plaza mobile home park waited in a local recreation center.

“I’m concerned,” Pedrizco said. “I want to take my son home, but I don’t want there to be any mistakes. If there’s fumes in the area, I want that to be cleaned up.”

Workers were bringing heavy equipment to lift the cars onto the tracks. Residents were not expected to be allowed back home until midmorning at the earliest.

Still, “we were extremely lucky tonight,” said Capt. Eric Esquivel of the city Fire Department.

A Union Pacific spokesman could not be reached for comment Monday night.

In November, a Union Pacific freight train hurtled off the tracks near Whittier, throwing nearly three dozen cargo containers into backyards. No one was seriously injured, but four houses were destroyed.

A year earlier in Commerce, a runaway train reached 80 mph as it barreled toward downtown Los Angeles before Union Pacific officials derailed it without warning. The train jumped the tracks and slammed into nearby homes, injuring 12 people.

Investigations concluded that rail workers failed to set brakes, causing the train to break loose.

Of the four derailments in the last month, the first occurred March 8 near Fullerton Road and Railroad Street in Industry, when 21 cars jumped the tracks, disrupting Metrolink service. Union Pacific said stress probably caused a rail to break. Firefighters evacuated 150 to 200 people, believing a leaking tanker car to be a fire hazard. Union Pacific officials later said the substance was cooking oil that posed no danger.

The next was a six-car derailment in Mira Loma about 1:30 a.m. the next day, which forced authorities to close one of Riverside County’s busiest intersections during the morning commute.

The third derailment occurred in Santa Fe Springs. Authorities allege that it was caused by a 14-year-old boy playing with track-switching equipment.