A Metrolink train derails in Oxnard, California following a collision with a truck, leaving more than 30 injured.
The 2015 Oxnard train derailment occurred on February 24, 2015, at 5:44 a.m. local time when a Metrolink passenger train collided with a truck that a driver had mistakenly turned from Rice Avenue onto the tracks and became stuck. After impact, the train derailed at Oxnard, California, United States. As a result of the crash, the train engineer died from his injuries a week later and 32 passengers and crew members were injured. The truck driver exited his vehicle and ran from the scene prior to the crash; he sustained minor injuries that were unrelated to the crash sequence.
Metrolink (reporting mark SCAX) is a commuter rail system in Southern California consisting of seven lines and 62 stations operating on 534 miles (859 km) of rail network.The system operates in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties, as well as to Oceanside in San Diego County. It connects with the Los Angeles County Metro Rail and Metro Busway system, the San Diego Coaster commuter rail and Sprinter light rail services, and with Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, Coast Starlight, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, and Texas Eagle intercity rail services. Metrolink owns several hundred miles of rail; however, it also shares some track with freight trains.
The system, founded in 1991 as the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) and adopting "Metrolink" as its moniker, started operation in 1992. Average weekday ridership was 42,928 as of 2017. It is operated by Amtrak under contract with the SCRRA.