30 injured after Amtrak collides with big rig truck in California

Los Angeles, CA, United States (4E) – An Amtrak passenger train and a truck collided near Hanford last Monday afternoon, injuring 30 passengers. According to Kings County EMS Director Dan Lynch, eleven people suffered moderate injuries while 19 were treated with minor injuries. Thirteen ambulances arrived at the scene to take them to the hospital.

Kings County Assistant Sheriff Dave Putnam said that the fairly high speed crash, which resulted after the big rig hauling cotton failed to yield, derailed the train which stopped about half a mile south after the initial hit.

Three of the four train cars left the tracks while the last two cars shifted at a 45-degree angle to the track, and the third from the end veered at a 65-degree angle.

In a statement, Amtrak said that “at about 12:25 p.m. Pacific Time, a semi tractor-trailer rig drove into the side of an Amtrak train at a public railroad crossing equipped with warning lights, bells and gates, south of Hanford, California.”

There were around 169 passengers and four crew members on Train 712, which was traveling south from Oakland to Bakersfield, California.

Amtrak has arranged transportation for uninjured passengers.

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