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Train Wreck Leaves Truck Driver Dead

Aired January 06, 2003 - 14:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now live to Burbank, California. Our Charles Feldman on the phone. That train derailment we've been talking about for the past hour and a half, it happened 9:30 Southern California time, 12:30 Eastern.
One person dead as a truck collides with a train -- what more can you tell us, Charles?

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, yes. That one fatality appears to be the truck driver, and it is not clear at this time why that truck was on the rail when the train came by. We're told by police the train typically goes around 45 to 50 miles per hour along this stretch, giving them barely enough time, if at all, to react to the presence of the truck. Some 50 passengers on board the train. We are told by police that all of them and all of the crew on board the train believed to now be out of the cars. Four of them jumping the tracks, two turning over.

Of the injuries, at least two appear to be serious in nature, eight others lesser so. In total, about 20 people injured. We did speak briefly with one of the people on one of the cars who said that they heard a loud crash. They looked up they said, and they saw heads being banged against the wall and what appeared to be numerous head and neck injuries. But that particular passenger said that he felt blessed that he was unharmed by the incident.

So again, what happens now is both an effort to treat those who are injured and, perhaps more important, an investigation to find out why this happened, why this Metrolink passenger train hit that truck, and why that truck was on the tracks. But we're told, Kyra, that at least as of now, the lights and warning signals appear to have been working properly. So it's a bit of a mystery.

PHILLIPS: Charles Feldman live in Burbank, California.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 6, 2003 - 14:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now live to Burbank, California. Our Charles Feldman on the phone. That train derailment we've been talking about for the past hour and a half, it happened 9:30 Southern California time, 12:30 Eastern.
One person dead as a truck collides with a train -- what more can you tell us, Charles?

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, yes. That one fatality appears to be the truck driver, and it is not clear at this time why that truck was on the rail when the train came by. We're told by police the train typically goes around 45 to 50 miles per hour along this stretch, giving them barely enough time, if at all, to react to the presence of the truck. Some 50 passengers on board the train. We are told by police that all of them and all of the crew on board the train believed to now be out of the cars. Four of them jumping the tracks, two turning over.

Of the injuries, at least two appear to be serious in nature, eight others lesser so. In total, about 20 people injured. We did speak briefly with one of the people on one of the cars who said that they heard a loud crash. They looked up they said, and they saw heads being banged against the wall and what appeared to be numerous head and neck injuries. But that particular passenger said that he felt blessed that he was unharmed by the incident.

So again, what happens now is both an effort to treat those who are injured and, perhaps more important, an investigation to find out why this happened, why this Metrolink passenger train hit that truck, and why that truck was on the tracks. But we're told, Kyra, that at least as of now, the lights and warning signals appear to have been working properly. So it's a bit of a mystery.

PHILLIPS: Charles Feldman live in Burbank, California.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com