Bad day on Gold Line

Another bad day for the Gold Line -- the second accident in as many weeks. Buses are being used for passengers, reports The Times' Tami Abdollah:

A Gold Line train hit a vehicle near Mount Washington today during the morning rush hour, injuring six people including the driver of the vehicle, officials said. It was the second accident in two weeks on the Gold Line. The driver was conscious and taken to a hospital, said Sheriff's Lt. Ron Kegel. Three other people also were taken to a hospital, and two were being evaluated at the scene, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Ron Myers. The accident occurred at 7:07 a.m at Avenue 50 and North Figueroa Street, Myers said. The crash caused a fire on the train that was quickly extinguished, but the train was "significantly damaged," Myers said. The train was either vacant or had few passengers, Myers said. Officials are trying to find anyone who may have left the train when the crash occurred.

Comments

[David Raether]

Two virtually identical accidents within a couple weeks of each other after years of no problems is a fluke that is meaningless.

And in both cases the drivers of the cars/SUVs were completely at fault.

Let's focus on the real problem here: bad drivers. Not the Gold Line. Not the MTA.

The problem was a couple of bad drivers not paying attention or trying to run the red lights and crossing bars.

Next time somebody does this, jail them. That'll bring a very quick end to the problem.

[Cathy]

The train didn't hit the suv - the report I read was she T-boned the train after crashing through the gate and past the flashing lights.

Wouldn't it be nice to have concrete barriers come up at train crossings and red lights so the idiot sociopaths that do these things get killed instead of the innocent victims?

[Bill]

Perhaps crossing gates need to come down on both sides of the track on both sides of the road. Then put strobe lights on the gates and a banner sign that says TRAINS CAN'T STOP in English and Spanish. Maybe some dimwit who is talking on the phone, putting on makeup, reading the Times or whatever will get back to the basic task of driving safely.

[John M.]

I'm starting to think that this is one of the arguments that National City Lines used to get rid of the old Red and Yellow Cars (and other streetcars in the US) to begin with...streetcars are dangerous and can't steer!

Kind of a persuasive argument if you want to sell a lot of buses.

Even more impressive today if you want to sell "bus rapid transit" to cities now.

[Ken Alpern]

I may have heard wrong, but I believe this clown actually crashed through the crossing gate! Perhaps it was an accident, but clearly we've got to do something to prevent these idiots from doing something no less inappropriate than knowingly run a red light!

Perhaps (as with policing the carpool lanes) fines of $500-1000 per violation with respect to crossing gate policy would encourage these idiots to find where the brake is when the lights and gates start indicating that there's a train coming.

[ABIGAIL MEZA]

2 ND PART HE WAS SAYNG THAT OTHER PREVIOS DRIVERS HAD SEEN THIS MAN VERY CLOSELY TO THE RAIL ROADS NOWWWWWW MY QUESTION IS HOW COME THEY DIDNOT DO ANY THING ABOT IT ???? ABBY FROM PASADENA CA HOO AND BY THE WAY THE BACK T UP THE TRAIN TO TAKE HIM OUT SO THE POINT IS HE GOT RUN OVER THE TRAIN 2SE METRO URE A SHAME

[ABIGAIL MEZA]

WHEN I HERD THAT THERE AHD BEEN AN ACCIDENT ON THE GOLD LINE AGAIN !!!!!! I SAID TO MY SELF EHAT KIND OF WORLD ARE WE LIVING ON THIS IS THE SECOND ACCIDENT IN LESS THAN A MONTH. I RIDE THE TRAIN EVRY DAY BACK AND FORTH AND THE OTHER DAY I WAS ON THE RED LINE GOIBG TORDS NORTH HOLLYWOOD WHE THE TRAIN SUDDENLY STOPS AT MCK ATHUR PARK AND THE DOOR ARE NOT OPPENING I SAID OKK MAYBE THERES SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE TRAIN BUT 4 MY SURPRISE THE DRIVER COMES OUT REALY FREAK IT OUT AND TOLD EVRYONE THAT WE NEED IT TO EXIT THE TRAIN SO I SAID MENN IM GOING TO BE LATE AGAIN AND THE PERSONS THAT WERE IN THE FRIST TRAIN TOLD ME THAT THEY HAD HERE SOME ONE SCREAMING SO WE STARED LOOKING IN THE SIDE OF THE PLATTFORM AND THE SIDE OFF THE TRAIN AND THERE IT IS A GUY !!! AT FRIST I THOUGHT ITS A JOKE U KNOW SOME ONE HAD JUST TRHOWN LIKE A PLASTIC TOY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT BUT I KEEP ON LOOKING AT THE BODY AND I SEE THAT 75 % OF HIS LEG WAS GONE SO I STARED TO FREAK OUT AND THEN I SEEE THAT HES BREATHING STILL AT THE END THE THE FIREFIGHTERS CAME 10 MIN AFTER THE ACCIDENT CAN U BELIVE THAT WILE IM HEARING THE TRAIN DRIVER SAYIN TO THE POLICE OFFICER THAT THE OTHER PREVIOS DRIVER

[Clay Rawlins]

I hope the driver of the car is held responsible for all the costs of this.

[mike]

Accidents like this need to be put in perspective. Rail is still more safe than driving on the freeways. Way more people are injured and die on our nations freeways...so many die that we have become numb to it and have come to think of it as just life.