Alejandra Reyes-Velarde
Los Angeles Times
SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. — Firefighters worked quickly to extinguish a blaze that ignited after a Metrolink commuter train collided with a recreational vehicle in Santa Fe Springs before dawn Friday.
The crash occurred just before 6 a.m. near Rosecrans and Marquardt avenues, said Eric Ortiz, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The commuter train, RV and an adjacent freight train all caught fire.
Metrolink spokesman Scott Johnson said 120 passengers were on the Orange County 681 Line en route to Los Angeles County at the time of the crash. No passengers were injured and everyone was evacuated safely, Johnson said. The train operator, who was closest to the collision, is also safe, he said. It was not immediately clear whether anyone in the RV was injured.
The OC 681 line and the 91 Perris Valley Line will both be delayed, aggravating Friday morning’s commute significantly. Johnson said Metrolink does not have an estimate for how long delays will be.
“Passengers who typically take one of those lines into Los Angeles may want to consider alternate transportation this morning,” he said. “We don’t anticipate this to be a quick clearance.”
Johnson said he does not know how the RV came to collide with the train on the tracks. The Whittier Police Department is investigating.
By 6:35 a.m., the flames had been extinguished, leaving behind a charred RV. Video showed fire officials entering the front of the Metrolink train, which was significantly damaged in the blaze.
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