Something's really odd about the Metrolink collides with a car-carrying semi story from this weekend. From SCVNews' report:
At the least, one would hope the CHP or LASD might be able to alert Metrolink or Union Pacific that the tracks were blocked. Perhaps the Sheriff's or CHP might have even tried to actively warn northbound/southbound trains of the obstruction if they had enough time.
Normal people concerned about the safety of others would have called 911 in this instance.
So why didn't the truck drivers dial 911? We read that one of the truck's passengers was actively discouraged from calling 911 because...wait for it...trains don't use the tracks at night. How did they even know that given that they were lost and new in town?
I'm just speculating here, but I think the truck drivers (and recall there were two car-carrying semis navigating around Pine Street of all places on a Saturday night) didn't want to call 911 because they were using the City's surface streets to bypass the Weigh Station on I-5. Since the Cross Valley Connector opened, it's become easy for huge semi trucks to skip the Weigh Station by simply driving up the 14 and taking Newhall Avenue to Newhall Ranch Road, or Golden Valley to Newhall Ranch road. Newhall Ranch road then dumps them onto I-5 North, just a quarter or so mile north of the CHP's Weigh Station at Castaic Junciton.
It all fits. Two big car-carrying semis lost in Newhall late on Saturday night just a mile or so from Highway 14. They somehow get lost on Pine Street, try to turn around, and one gets stuck on the tracks. One passenger of the trucks wants to dial 911 but is discouraged from doing so by the other truck driver, who doesn't stick around once the Metrolink train crashes into the stalled semi trailer.
We're very lucky only three people were injured in this collision. For that matter, we're very lucky this wasn't a higher-speed southbound Union Pacific train loaded with cargo or chemicals.
This could have been much worse.
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Train crash in Newhall, ctd
A woman who was with the car carrier said she and her male driver were from out of town and got lost on Pine Street. The woman, Demeta Freed (phonetic spelling), said they met up with another, larger 10-car carrier, whose occupants told them to turn around.
Evidently they were in the process of doing so when the pair’s trailer got stuck on the train tracks.
They exited the vehicle. Freed said her driver wanted to call 9-1-1 but the people in the other car carrier told them not to worry about it because no trains come through the area at that time of night.When I first read this story Sunday monring, my wife and I questioned why the driver of the semi wouldn't dial 911 to at least try and warn someone that a massive semi trailer was stuck on the tracks. I mean, who wouldn't, right? That's who you call in an emergency. And a truck stuck on train tracks is an emergency.
At the least, one would hope the CHP or LASD might be able to alert Metrolink or Union Pacific that the tracks were blocked. Perhaps the Sheriff's or CHP might have even tried to actively warn northbound/southbound trains of the obstruction if they had enough time.
Normal people concerned about the safety of others would have called 911 in this instance.
So why didn't the truck drivers dial 911? We read that one of the truck's passengers was actively discouraged from calling 911 because...wait for it...trains don't use the tracks at night. How did they even know that given that they were lost and new in town?
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| CHP Weigh Station |
It all fits. Two big car-carrying semis lost in Newhall late on Saturday night just a mile or so from Highway 14. They somehow get lost on Pine Street, try to turn around, and one gets stuck on the tracks. One passenger of the trucks wants to dial 911 but is discouraged from doing so by the other truck driver, who doesn't stick around once the Metrolink train crashes into the stalled semi trailer.
We're very lucky only three people were injured in this collision. For that matter, we're very lucky this wasn't a higher-speed southbound Union Pacific train loaded with cargo or chemicals.
This could have been much worse.
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