NTSB preliminary report confirms Oxnard Metrolink derailment details

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Aerial view of the Metrolink train derailment in Oxnard. The crash occurred at the Rice Avenue crossing, causing three cars to derail and injuring at least 28 people. (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

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Oxnard police Officer Sarah Shobe removes tape in preparation of reopening Rice Avenue on the morning of Feb. 25, a day after the crash. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Crews continued to monitor the rail tracks after a night of repairs at the intersection of Rice Avenue and 5th Street in Oxnard. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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The Metrolink track at the intersection of Rice Avenue and 5th Street in Oxnard was operational Feb. 25. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Salvage crews work on the derailed Metrolink train cars in Oxnard on Tuesday afternoon. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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Ventura County first responders at the scene of an overturned Metrolink train car in Oxnard Tuesday, after it collided with a vehicle on the tracks. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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An uninjured passenger from the Metrolink train derailment in Oxnard gestures to the media Tuesday, after the train he was riding in colliding with a vehicle on the tracks. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Ventura County first responders at the scene of an overturned Metrolink train car in Oxnard Tuesday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters and first responders on the scene of a Metrolink train derailment in Oxnard early Tuesday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Officials examine a Metrolink train that derailed in Oxnard early Tuesday morning. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters inspect a Metrolink train car that derailed in Oxnard early Tuesday. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters inspect a Metrolink train car that derailed in Oxnard early Tuesday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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A Ventura County first responder at the scene of an overturned Metrolink train car in Oxnard after it colliding with a vehicle on the tracks. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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A firefighter hoses down hot spots after a Metrolink train collided with a vehicle on the tracks in Oxnard early Tuesday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Metrolink passengers wait to be transported after their train derailed in Oxnard early Tuesday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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A Ventura County sheriff’s deputy inspects an overturned Metrolink train car in Oxnard early Tuesday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

By Veronica Rocha

March 19, 2015 12:17 PM PT

A preliminary federal report on the Oxnard train derailment confirms details on how a truck became lodged on the tracks just moments before last month’s fatal crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board report released Thursday says the truck driver intended to turn right on East 5^th Street but instead entered the railroad right-of-way and turned onto the track. Train No. 102 hadn’t yet approached, so the grade crossing’s warning system was not activated.

The driver, Jose Sanchez-Ramirez, 54, traveled on the railroad right-of-way for about 80 feet west of South Rice Avenue and was partially on the railroad tracks when it became lodged. The driver’s side door was open and the Ford F-450 pickup’s headlights and hazard lights were on as the train approached on the morning of Feb. 24.

Operating the train was a student engineer, who began to sound the horn about a quarter-mile west of the crossing and set the emergency brakes, according to the report. Meanwhile, the engineer was monitoring.

Eight seconds later, the train collided with the truck and its utility trailer. The trailer was partially consumed by fire.

The train’s four cars were derailed, three of which overturned.

Twenty-eight people were taken to hospitals with minor to critical injuries. The engineer, Glenn Steele, 62, died seven days later as a result of injuries from the crash.

The NTSB says a 1998 Toyota Camry, which stopped at the crossing before the crash, was struck by debris. The driver was not injured.

Sanchez-Ramirez, of Yuma, Ariz., was in the area for work and thought he was turning onto 5th Street, his attorney said.

After the crash, police said they found him walking and apparently disoriented more than a mile from the scene. He was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run involving multiple injuries but was later released after prosecutors declined to file charges, pending the conclusion of investigations.

NTSB investigators have said a final report with more details about the crash could take up to a year to complete.

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