Amtrak train derails in Moorpark after collision with county water truck

Editor's note: Our live coverage has ended. You can find a summary of the incident here, and a story on expected track repairs as of Thursday here.

Original story:

Several cars of an Amtrak Coast Starlight train derailed after a collision with a county vehicle in Moorpark late Wednesday morning, authorities said.

The train hit a Ventura County Public Works Agency water truck that was being driven by a public works employee, officials said.

A center was set up for family members to reunite with passengers, at the adult center at 799 Moorpark Ave. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, most people at the center had been picked up by family or had boarded buses to Union Station in Los Angeles.

Here are the latest updates:

Additional passenger sent to hospital

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, authorities added one more person to the number taken to local hospitals after someone at the Moorpark center, where passengers had been bused, was transported. In all, 16 people were taken to hospitals, including the truck driver taken to a trauma center.

Authorities also had conflicting numbers of passengers on the derailed Amtrak train.

Olivia Irvin, senior public relations manager for Amtrak, said that based on ticket scans, the train was carrying 198 passengers.

Ventura County Fire Engineer Andy VanSciver said based on the count of people getting off the train, there were 186 passengers.

Both agreed there were also 13 crew members aboard.

It wasn't clear exactly what caused smoke, initially described as fire, under the luggage car, VanSciver said late Wednesday afternoon.

Something was putting up smoke, he said. Firefighters put water on it, and the smoke went away. Whether it was heat or full combustion wasn't known, he said.

Birthday trip

Mindy Faver of Detroit and her mother Sheri Peterson, who lives in Oceanside, waited outside the center before 4 p.m. for a local friend to pick them up.

Wednesday was Peterson’s birthday, and the duo were on a special mother-daughter trip to visit family in Eugene, Oregon.

“All of a sudden: Smack!” Faver recalled. She was seated facing the rear of the train and saw what she later found out was the water truck’s tank tumbling past her window.

But with the minimal injuries, she said, “It could have been a lot worse.”

Patty Wells of Killeen, Texas, also waited outside the Moorpark center, determined to get rolling again as soon as she was able toward Seattle. Amtrak representatives had told her they planned to bus passengers back to Union Station in Los Angeles, then transport them north by way of the Central Valley.

Wells had already been on the train from Killeen to Los Angeles since Monday before hopping on the coastal line Wednesday morning.

“I’m still gonna visit my daughter,” she said.

Traffic remains slow

4 p.m.: Traffic along Highway 118, also called Los Angeles Avenue, remained slow in both directions near the accident site, especially in eastbound lanes heading into Moorpark, traffic maps showed.

Earlier in the afternoon, the route was at a crawl as drivers tried to catch a glimpse of the scene between fields of weeds and trees.

The railroad tracks run parallel to Highway 118, about 250 yards from the roadway. Around 1:30 p.m., the dirt road that crosses the tracks and runs perpendicular to the highway had been swarming with law enforcement officers, county officials and members of the media.

Signage at site

The spot along the Union Pacific Railroad tracks where the Amtrak train hit a county truck has advisory signs and a stop sign, said Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Dean Worthy, but no electronic crossing arms. Worthy described the site as a remote farm road.

Ventura County fire officials said a fire that broke out after the derailment was under the baggage car. No details were immediately available as to what materials caught fire, but the blaze had been put out before noon.

An official with the county Office of Emergency Services said some hydraulic fluid had apparently spilled and may have been producing a lot of smoke after the derailment.

Passengers recount jolt

Kimberly Mathews, of Klamath Falls, Oregon, was taking the coastal route home when the train’s sudden jolt threw her across the seat.She stood up to go to the bathroom, she said, and was on the stairs when her car derailed, knocking her down again, Mathews recalled after arriving at Moorpark's community center, where train passengers were bused after the collision.

Mathews was suffering back and shoulder pain. “It feels like somebody took a sledgehammer and just whacked me 50 times,” she said.

Paramedics had told her to consider going to the hospital, but with no apparent route back to Klamath Falls, she decided against it. She’ll visit her doctor at home whenever she gets there, she said.

Tucson resident James Hinz, who was in the same car with Mathews, said the incident took 30 to 45 seconds from impact to derailment.

“I thought we were goners,” said Theresa Darragh, also from Tucson, who was traveling with Hinz.The train car then caught fire and its occupants evacuated, said Hinz and Darragh, who were were on their way to Seattle planning to catch a cruise ship for Alaska.As of midafternoon, the pair hadn’t yet heard about travel arrangements from Amtrak. They also hadn’t tracked down their luggage, which they’d checked into their car's luggage compartment before it caught fire.

By 4 p.m., Amtrak had arranged a bus back to Union Station in Los Angeles and told the partners they’d get them to Seattle by Friday, a day ahead of their cruise ship's departure.Hinz, on his first vacation after decades of work as a general contractor, said he wasn’t about to miss it.Darragh simply said she hopes the boat doesn’t get a hole in it.

Update on driver

3 p.m.: County officials said the person who suffered the most serious injuries, the driver of the Ventura County Public Works truck that was hit by the train, had been taken to the trauma center at Los Robles Regional Medical Center.

He was said to have serious injuries, but was described as being in stable condition.

First passengers arrive at meeting site

2:15 p.m.: Busloads of Amtrak passengers, along with their luggage, started arriving at the reunification center in Moorpark.

At least five buses, including from Simi Valley Transit, Moorpark City Transit and the Ventura County Transportation Commission, were ferrying passengers from the crash site, said Brian Chong, Moorpark's spokesperson.

Updated patient count

2:15 p.m.: Ventura County Fire officials said during an afternoon press conference that 15 people in all had been transported to local hospitals. One of them was taken to a trauma center.

Fourteen of the patients were classified as having minor injuries, while one had suffered critical injuries, according to radio traffic. Authorities said earlier the driver of the water truck that had been struck by the train was taken to a trauma center.

Fire officials also provided an update on Train 14's components, bassed on information from Amtrak. The train had two locomotives, two coaches, three sleeper cars, a dinner car, a lounge car and a baggage car.

Buses taking passengers to reunification site

The Ventura County Transportation Commission has sent two buses to the site to pick up passengers.

The buses will take passengers to the Moorpark Adult Active Center, 799 Moorpark Ave., said Darrin Peschka, agency spokesperson.

Traffic was open on Highway 118, also called Los Angeles Avenue, though was moving slowly. Authorities were stopping traffic periodically to let vehicles out of the incident staging area and to let people cross the roadway.

Train was headed to Seattle

1:45 p.m.: Amtrak officials said in an email that train 14 had been headed from Los Angeles to Seattle when the collision occurred around 11:15 a.m.

The water truck had been "obstructing tracks" in Moorpark when it was hit, the rail agency said.

Amtrak's tally of people on the train was higher than an earlier number from county officials. About 198 passengers and 13 crew members were on board, Amtrak said. All were evacuated without serious injuries.

Ventura County Fire Department officials later tweeted a different number: 186 passengers and 13 crew members.

"The train derailed as a result of the impact but remained upright," the statement from Amtrak spokesperson Kimberly Woods said. "Amtrak is working with customers to make alternate travel arrangements. Amtrak, in coordination with local authorities, is conducting a full investigation."

1 taken to trauma center

1:30 p.m.: Amtrak's train 14 had been headed northbound when it ran into a Ventura County water truck on the level grade crossing, authorities said during a press briefing.

The number of people on the train, tallied at 190, included Amtrak employees and passengers. Only minor injuries were reported.

One person driving the water truck was also injured. That person was transported to a local trauma center. No update was available on the status of the driver's injuries, but because of the nature of the accident, the person had to be taken to a trauma center, according to Ventura County Fire Department officials.

190 passengers on train

Ventura County Fire officials said all 190 passengers aboard the Amtrak Coast Starlight's train 14 appeared mostly uninjured. One person had been transported to a local hospital by ambulance. Four passengers in all had been transported with bumps and scrapes that were considered minor injuries.

Three of the train's seven cars had derailed, fire officials said, correcting an earlier tweet that reported a higher number.

County workers were clearing channel

1 p.m.: The vehicle struck by the train was a county public works truck, county officials said.

Employees were in the area cleaning out a channel.

Initial reports indicate someone in the truck was able to walk to an ambulance, although details couldn't immediately be confirmed.

California Highway Patrol officials said in a tweet only minor injuries had been reported.

Family assistance center opens

12:45 p.m. Families and friends looking for information on passengers who may have been involved in the accident may call the information hotline at 805-465–6650.

A Family Assistance Center has been set up at the Moorpark Adult Active Center, near Moorpark City Hall, located at 799 Moorpark Road, Moorpark. Those looking for loved ones, may receive reunification assistance at that location.

Train derails after hitting county work truck

11:18 a.m.: The incident was reported shortly before 11:20 a.m. near Highway 118, also called Los Angeles Avenue, near the cross with Buttercreek Road, the California Highway Patrol reported, at the west end of the city.

The site is near Muranaka Farms, county officials said.

Ventura County Fire Department officials said three of the trains seven cars had derailed, correcting an earlier tweet where they reported all eight cars had derailed. The derailed cars were still vertical, officials said.

Photos from the scene showed a county work truck with major damage.

Highway 118 was closed between Tierra Rejada Road and Hitch Boulevard as authorities worked the scene.

Mostly minor injuries were initially reported among train passengers, who were being assisted off the train by firefighters. At least two patients were transported by ambulance as of 12:30 p.m., with another two possibly pending transport.

-- Staff writer Wes Woods II contributed to this report.

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Amtrak train derails in Moorpark after collision with county truck