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Train strikes car-carrier in Ventura loaded with vintage Porsches
Sunday September 12, 2004
VENTURA, Calif. (AP) A car-carrier loaded with vintage Porsches was struck by a freight train Sunday after becoming stranded on railroad tracks, officials said.
The accident occurred about 3:45 p.m. near the Ventura County Fairgrounds, said Lt. David Wilson of the Ventura Police Department, who was at the scene.
The car-carrier was ``high-centered'' on the railroad tracks and the driver was trying to maneuver it off the tracks when Wilson arrived.
Wilson said he called to have train traffic stopped, but a northbound freight train came barreling down the track only moments later.
``We were able to get the driver out of the cab, luckily,'' Wilson said.
The driver suffered minor injuries while fleeing from the impact, Wilson said.
The vintage Porsches ``are close to totaled, if not totaled,'' Wilson said.
``The train center-punched the trailer carrying the cars and split the trailer in half, and the cars went flying,'' he said.
No crew members on the train were injured, but the front wheels of the locomotive derailed, said John Bromley, a spokesman for Union Pacific. Debris was being removed from under the locomotive late Sunday night and there was no estimate on when the tracks would be cleared, Bromley said.
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