Close call on Metrolink 603

Me: "Jeff, my train just hit a truck and it looks like whoever is in this truck is dead, for sure."

Jeff: "I'm on the scene. I was at the intersection and I saw your train hit it. The guy was stalled on the tracks and I yelled for him to get out and run. He was like a deer in headlights, but got out in time. Two seconds later, your train hit at about 50 mph."



I look out the window and I see my car (there between the two police cars) pulled over with the hazards on. Then I see Jeff there, on his phone talking to me, standing next to the traumatized guy whose truck it was.

"What?! I didn't even know you took this route to go to work after dropping me off at the train station. Do you see my train every morning?"

"Yes."

For the next two hours, Jeff kept us who were on the train apprised of what was going down. Fire and rescue inspecting the train. Engineer getting a breathalizer. Police collecting debris in the road. Road closure. Metrolink Safety on the scene, interviewing Jeff as the key eyewitness. Metrolink PR getting a statement from Jeff. Sherriff wants to know if the train tried to break before the impact. Conductor indicates minor injuries of passengers on the front of the train. (Which is why I ride in the second to the last train car.) Front bumper of the train has damage. Train track looks good - no damage. Etc. Etc.


What an adventure for a Wednesday morning. Just a three hour commute to work. And everyone was okay, which is what matters.