Los Angeles Metrolink Train Accident Kills Seventeen

Chaos reigned in the quiet Los Angeles neighborhood of Chatsworth when a Metrolink commuter train met with an accident with a freight train on Friday afternoon. According to initial reports, the Metrolink train was carrying at least 222 people when it appears to have collided with a 450 ton locomotive that was coming from the opposite direction.

The Los Angeles Metrolink commuter train accident forced the train backwards, causing the passenger car behind to crumple. Several cars that were in front of the freight train all collapsed together in a huge pile. Earlier reports after the Los Angeles train accident pegged the death toll at ten, but now new reports have confirmed that at least 17 people have been killed. According to the fire department, at least 2 people remain trapped inside one of the passenger cars, and there is no way of telling yet whether they are alive.

We have to be prepared for more heart breaking news coming in. According to Los Angeles police, the Metrolink train accident death toll could touch 20.

A fire erupted beneath the train, and firefighters were able to quickly put it out. Eyewitnesses said many passengers climbed out of the car, and helped other passengers escape the flames. Close to 135 people have been injured in the Los Angeles Metrolink train accident, although estimates of the injured continue to vary. According to fire department officials, there are at least 87 critically injured passengers. Obviously, we are still in the early stages of receiving information about this train accident, and we can expect the number of injuries to rise, besides the death toll.

Rescue officials say the impact of the train accident was so great that the locomotive of the Metrolink was forced deeply into the passenger car, entrenching it there. For the rescue crew who rushed to the scene of the train accident, the sight they were faced with was devastating. There were people lying on top of other people, injured and bloody. Panic was everywhere.

As we write this, rescue work is still going on in what is now confirmed as the worst Metrolink train accident in Los Angeles history. The Chatsworth area is in a serene portion of the San Fernando Valley. The commuter train was on its way to the Moorpark suburb of Ventura County when the accident occurred. Residents reported hearing a loud explosion as the two trains collided. The local streets quickly filled with police cars, fire fighting trucks and ambulances, and residents pitched in with help too.

There is no information yet about the cause of Los Angeles Metrolink accident. In other words, it is not yet clear where exactly the fault lay in the system. This much however, is crystal clear – the two trains should never have been on the same track. We can expect more details to emerge in the hours ahead. For now, Metrolink spokespeople have been shaken by the accident, admitting that both trains were not supposed to be on the same track simultaneously.

Right now our thoughts are with the injured, and the families of the victims. It’s normal to be panicked and confused at a time like this, but we hope that those who were injured or lost loved ones realize that they are definitely eligible to be compensated in this train accident. Consulting with a Los Angeles train accident attorney at this point in time, will help them get the legal advice they need.

If you have been injured or a loved-one has been killed in the Los Angeles Metrolink train accident, contact The Reeves Law Group. The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of train accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation relating to the Metrolink train crash in Chatsworth or any other personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.