CONDUCTOR INJURED AFTER CAR STRIKES TRAIN CARSON, CA -- A Union Pacific conductor hanging from the back of a train was critically injured Monday when a truck slammed into him and pinned him against the car in Carson, authorities said. Although it initially appeared the man might die from his injuries, he was recovering at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center as the day progressed, sheriff's deputies said. The accident occurred about 09:45 on the tracks that run alongside the San Diego (405) Freeway at Wilmington Avenue. Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said the conductor and other employees were moving cars in its industrial yard in the area. The conductor was hanging onto a grain car as it was pushed east, slowly into the roadway, Davis and deputies said. Although a witness at the scene said otherwise, Davis said the railroad warning lights were flashing. At that moment, a delivery truck driver exited the freeway and turned right onto Wilmington. He hit the train, wedging the conductor in between the side of the truck and the grain car. Davis said the driver should have seen the train. "It looked like there was nothing to obscure the view looking both left and right," he said. Firefighters took about 20 minutes to free the conductor from between the vehicles. Carson sheriff's Sgt. Dale Johnson said traffic detectives were investigating whether the warning lights were indeed on. There are no crossing arms at the intersection. The injured conductor was in his 30s. His name was not released pending notification of his relatives. Sheriff's deputies are conducting the investigation. No one was cited at the scene. - Larry Altman, The Daily Breeze (LAX to L.A. Harbor)
