LOS ANGELES — A commuter train carrying 222 passengers and a crew of two collided head-on with a freight train during the Friday afternoon rush, killing at least 10 people, injuring dozens and trapping an unknown number of others in a passenger car crushed by its own engine.
Firefighters extinguished a blaze under part of the wreckage and were working hours after the collision to free people from the destroyed commuter car, which was left toppled on its side with the train’s engine shoved back inside it. Two other cars in the Metrolink train remained upright.
The Union Pacific freight train’s engine also was turned onto its side, with the rest of the train splayed out like an accordion behind it.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told reporters at the scene that 10 people were confirmed dead and that the toll could go to 15. He said the number of injured was probably more than 100.
Police Lt. John Romero said the death toll was 10 to 20.
Fire Chief Dennis Barry said the Metrolink locomotive was deeply embedded into the passenger car. “We have victims on top of victims,” Barry said.
The trains collided in the Chatsworth area of the San Fernando Valley.
“I do not know what caused the wreck,” said Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell.
The condition of the freight crew was not immediately known.
Union Pacific spokeswoman Zoe Richmond said a freight train usually has a two-person crew. She also said it is common in California for freight and commuter trains to share the same track.
