On Monday, a 77 year old woman was killed when her vehicle crashed into a train near Camarillo. A bystander was also injured. Officials say that the crash was reported around 10:50 that morning at the Fifth Street and Las Posas Road south of Camraillo.
The 77 year old woman was driving a minivan when she was hit by a westbound Amtrak train. The Ventura County Fire Department Firefighters worked to extricate the victim from the vehicle which was involved with a vehicle that the Amtrak train was hit by at the intersection of Las Posas Road and Fifth street near Camarillo. The driver of the vehicle died in the accident. A member of the Southern Pacific Railroad Crew was the person in the other victim. His truck was struck from debris and the crossing gates fell on it, was injured.
Misty Jill Wood was the driver of the mini van, she was pronounced dead at the scene. Luckily there were no other passengers in her vehicle but they did save a dog from the vehicle. Her vehicle had struck the train between the engine and the first car.
The minivan then hit the Union Pacific Railroad truck that was parked nearby. The minivan ended up landing on its side. Debris also fell on to the truck. The van was totaled and the truck had some major front-end damage.
The Union Pacific employee that was in the truck, suffered moderate injuries. He was taken to a nearby hospital to be interviewed and examined.
Luckily, none of the 292 passengers on the train were injured. They were stuck on the train for three hours after the crash. An autopsy will be used to determine Misty's cause of death.
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We only heard the impact. How it happened — who knows?
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Emergency workers were checking on a member of a work crew nearby when the train accident occurred. A witness says that he saw the emergency repsonders arrive then they took the woman out of her vehicle. He also saw the dog saved from the minivan. The dog was a Chihuahua and was taken by the Ventura County Animal Services.
Luckily, the train remained on the tracks. The Officials found no major damage done to the train or any environmental hazards. It remained at about 300 yards from the scene. The train stayed there while a decision could be made whether it could continue or find an alternate source of transportation for the passengers.
The passengers were kept on the train so that the train representatives could interview them. Around three hours after the crash the train finally traveled to the Oxnard station so the passengers could be transferred to other trains.
Two other trains were delayed and a Los Angeles bound train was canceled due to the crash. Luckily all trains were back on schedule Monday afternoon. However, the Los Posas Road between Pleasant Valley Road and East Fifth Street will be closed unitl Tuesday Morning due to the crash. The Union Pacific Railroad crews will work on the repairs.
Daniel A. Gibalevich<br /> DAG Law Firm<br />
