Train Collides with Family Car

At approximately 7:30 a.m. on August 31, a produce truck crossing the trolley tracks was struck by a Coaster train at Washington Street and Pacific Highway.

The train, carrying 160 passengers, struck the truck; another vehicle, a car, became wedged under its trailer. The driver of the truck, Rafael Navarette, said he saw the train coming toward him and he had nowhere to go because of the traffic . He was also eight feet over the trolley track when his truck was struck by the train, sending its trailer into the surrounding vehicles and into a black car, which became pinned underneath the truck.

The passengers of the vehicle were a family of four — father, mother, and their two daughters. The mother and daughters were taken to local hospitals with serious injuries. A doctor was at the scene (crossing the tracks at the time) and was able to attend to the family until paramedics arrived.

Traffic was snarled for hours and the train passengers were taken away by trolleys about 30 minutes after the crash. Several other vehicles were involved in the accident but no one else seemed to be injured.