A train accident in Sacramento on Aug. 29 left 27 injured, prompting a major response from emergency crews. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the light-rail passenger train derailed at Roseville Road and Marconi Avenue. Fire officials said 27 patients were injured, including 13 who were taken to two trauma centers. The remaining patients were treated at the scene and released.
Several Injuries Reported
More than 40 firefighters and 15 ambulances responded to transport injured victims to area hospitals. Fire officials said it is extremely uncommon for a train accident of this magnitude to occur in the city. No fatalities were reported, and none of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries.
The Sacramento Bee reports that the accident occurred on the Regional Transit (RT) light-rail system after one of its trains collided with a maintenance train in north Sacramento. This is the second collision between two trains in Sacramento since RT began operating a light-rail service in 1987.
The Bee reported that the collision occurred in a dark, isolated area of rails parallel to Roseville Road and Del Paso Park where RT tracks cross Arcade Creek. The accident scene was between RT’s Winter Street station, where the tracks cross under Interstate 80 and into Sacramento city limits, and Marconi Avenue. One passenger told the media that as the train derailed, he flipped over the top of his bike and saw a fellow passenger hit a bench and split his leg open.
Causes and Compensation Issues
Based on news reports, it is still unclear what caused this train accident. Was the engineer distracted at the time? Did a mechanical malfunction in one of the vehicles cause the collision? Did the engineer or some other employee in charge of operating the train make an error? We trust investigators are looking into these and other issues to determine precisely why this train accident occurred.
In such cases, injured victims can seek compensation for medical expenses, lost income, hospitalization, the cost of rehabilitation, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. Broken bone injuries can be extremely common in such situations and recovering from them could take lengthy physical therapy, rest and ongoing treatment. All of this, of course, could prove costly. The train accident victims must seek the counsel of an experienced California train accident lawyer who will remain on top of the investigation and ensure their legal rights and best interests are protected.
Sources: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-08-22/train-collision-in-sacramento-causes-multiple-casualties
