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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