PLACENTIA, Calif.'A mile-long freight train traveling north through a busy rail corridor in Orange County collided head-on Tuesday with a double-deck Metrolink commuter train during the morning rush hour, killing two people and injuring more than 260.
The deaths were the first in the 10-year history of Metrolink, which runs more than 100 trains a day in a network spanning six southern California counties.
The crash at 8:10 a.m. shook nearby buildings and sent passengers flying through the air in a tumble of newspapers, eye glasses and seat cushions. As the impact subsided, passengers screamed and pounded on the train windows to get out, witnesses said.
The collision occurred near a street intersection in Placentia, about 35 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Passengers and nearby witnesses said the southbound Metrolink train, which runs between Riverside and San Juan Capistrano, slowed suddenly and then shuddered to a halt when it was slammed by the freight train operated by Burlington Northern Santa Fe.
