Amtrak vs pickup

[The Davy Crockett]

Info is still skimpy, but California Highway Patrol is reporting that two people were killed "when an Amtrak train collided with a pickup truck" in Las Lomas,CA around 1:15 PM on 1/29/11. Maybe the SB Starlight?

 

[Grandpa D]

Info is still skimpy, but California Highway Patrol is reporting that two people were killed "when an Amtrak train collided with a pickup truck" in Las Lomas,CA around 1:15 PM on 1/29/11. Maybe the SB Starlight?

KSBW says it happend in Watsonville but their map shows it south of Las Lomas; no mention of which train. Amtrak Pickup Crash

[edit:] Here's a little better story with a picture. KION TV story

 

[PerRock]

I think that last article got the engineer & the conductor mixed up. they said that "The engineer and the passengers stated that they felt a slight impact and other than that, they didn't realize there was a collision until the train had come to a stop." and "the conductor blew the train's horn, but the driver didn't listen."

I'm pretty sure the engineer would have known about the crash from looking thru the front window & seeing the truck. And the Conductor doesn't blow the horn.

peter

 

[Chris]

I am actually on this train right now, we just left Salinas where we waited for a conductor and engineer change.

We hit a pickup truck about 20 minutes before Salinas, don't know the name of the town but it was in the middle of a swampy area.

Nobody on the train felt the impact at all, I was sitting in the Parlor car when I heard the air from the breaks expel and knew we were about to have an emergency brake in seconds. We were stopped at a scene for a little over an hour while the CHP took pictures and were waiting for the coroner to arrive.

 

[Cristobal]

Info is still skimpy, but California Highway Patrol is reporting that two people were killed "when an Amtrak train collided with a pickup truck" in Las Lomas,CA around 1:15 PM on 1/29/11. Maybe the SB Starlight?

KSBW says it happend in Watsonville but their map shows it south of Las Lomas; no mention of which train. Amtrak Pickup Crash

[edit:] Here's a little better story with a picture. KION TV story

Story is right. How much truth can you find in this statement from said 'story'?

Some of the passengers were so shook up that they got off the train and never returned.

First off, no one would be allowed to get off of the train there and, secondly, it's pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Where did those "shook up" pax wander off to?

BTW, the 11 and the 14 are the only Amtrak trains that run through there and the timing puts it as the 11 (CS s/b).

 

[varnish]

BTW, the 11 and the 14 are the only Amtrak trains that run through there and the timing puts it as the 11 (CS s/b).

It was, and the news story did indeed refer to the train was travelling FROM SanFransisco towards SanLuis Obispo.

Cheers

 

[GaSteve]

I think that last article got the engineer & the conductor mixed up. they said that "The engineer and the passengers stated that they felt a slight impact and other than that, they didn't realize there was a collision until the train had come to a stop." and "the conductor blew the train's horn, but the driver didn't listen."

I'm pretty sure the engineer would have known about the crash from looking thru the front window & seeing the truck. And the Conductor doesn't blow the horn.

peter

For some reason, the media will never figure out the difference between a conductor and an engineer. That even extends to local rail transit, wherein our local daily newspaper recently referred to the heavy rail operator as the "conductor", and those trains don't even have conductors.

 

[Steven M Seyler]

I keep on hearing that the woman was the driver. This is not true. I was the first person on the scene. I saw the whole thing happen. I checked their pulses. The man was dead when I got there. The woman was still alive. She looked at me and tried to say something, but she died soon after. They didnt try to beat the train. They stopped at the tracks, waited a couple seconds, and proceded directly in front of a train traveling at 50 mph. It seemed intentional. I hate to say that. It seemed surreal. It took a couple of hours before it actually sank in that it happened, that I watched that happen waiting for my friend to get out of the porta-john so we could complete our kayaking trip.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

I keep on hearing that the woman was the driver. This is not true. I was the first person on the scene. I saw the whole thing happen. I checked their pulses. The man was dead when I got there. The woman was still alive. She looked at me and tried to say something, but she died soon after. They didnt try to beat the train. They stopped at the tracks, waited a couple seconds, and proceded directly in front of a train traveling at 50 mph. It seemed intentional. I hate to say that. It seemed surreal. It took a couple of hours before it actually sank in that it happened, that I watched that happen waiting for my friend to get out of the porta-john so we could complete our kayaking trip.

Wow... So sorry you had to witness and be a part of such a tragedy. I've found it amazing how often the news media gets things wrong.

THANK YOU for sharing your story.

 

[dlynbid]

Info is still skimpy, but California Highway Patrol is reporting that two people were killed "when an Amtrak train collided with a pickup truck" in Las Lomas,CA around 1:15 PM on 1/29/11. Maybe the SB Starlight?

KSBW says it happend in Watsonville but their map shows it south of Las Lomas; no mention of which train. Amtrak Pickup Crash

[edit:] Here's a little better story with a picture. KION TV story

Story is right. How much truth can you find in this statement from said 'story'?

Some of the passengers were so shook up that they got off the train and never returned.

First off, no one would be allowed to get off of the train there and, secondly, it's pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Where did those "shook up" pax wander off to?

BTW, the 11 and the 14 are the only Amtrak trains that run through there and the timing puts it as the 11 (CS s/b).

Just read that same statement, and wondered...WTH?!!? Who makes this stuff up? Where did the supposedly disembarked pax wonder off too? Someone needs to email the editor and call them on this, it is clearly a made up statement to sensationalize the story. Whay would you even want to get off the train....so you can wait 24 hours until the next one??

 

[ThayerATM]

I think that last article got the engineer & the conductor mixed up. they said that "The engineer and the passengers stated that they felt a slight impact and other than that, they didn't realize there was a collision until the train had come to a stop." and "the conductor blew the train's horn, but the driver didn't listen."

I'm pretty sure the engineer would have known about the crash from looking thru the front window & seeing the truck. And the Conductor doesn't blow the horn.

peter

For some reason, the media will never figure out the difference between a conductor and an engineer. That even extends to local rail transit, wherein our local daily newspaper recently referred to the heavy rail operator as the "conductor", and those trains don't even have conductors.

I've wondered something similar. On this board, after so many posts, one is promoted from conductor to engineer. While I will never denigrate the importance of the engineer, he/she is the person "driving" the train. The conductor, on the other hand, is the person in charge of the train. Is that concept rocket science? :wacko: :unsure: