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The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority announced early this (Monday) morning that normal light-rail train operations will resume on the Winchester-Mountain View line today after a double-fatal train collision with a vehicle on the tracks Sunday required repairs to be made, transit officials said.
The transit agency announced the completed repairs at 5 a.m. Monday, July 9, and said trains would be running at a restricted 5 mph speed through the repair area today, which may cause delays. The crash damaged an overhead pole and wires that power the train, transit officials said.
VTA spokeswoman Brandi Childress said test trains have been running through the area overnight and this morning, but a time for when the speed limit would be lifted wasn’t provided.
Childress said bus bridges are standing by, but said the agency is confident the repairs to the track are complete.
Two people died in the collision with the light-rail train Sunday afternoon after the car allegedly drove through the blocked crossing, San Jose police said.
Police responded to the crash at about 12:34 p.m. at Lincoln and Auzerais avenues in San Jose. According to police, a gold Buick Regal traveling south on Lincoln Avenue approached the train crossing at the 500 block of the street, according to police.
The railway crossing arms were down and functioning when the adult man driving the Buick navigated around the arms and was hit by the train, according to police.
The driver and his adult male passenger both died on the scene, police said. The train operator and the train’s passengers were not injured.
The Santa Clara County coroner’s office will release the name of the victims after informing their next of kin. Police said the fatal traffic collision is the city’s 23rd this year, and the two deaths bring the number of traffic fatalities to 25.
The San Jose Police Department is in charge of the investigation. Anyone with information about the collision is asked to contact Detective Brian McMahon at (408) 277-4654.
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Don’t drive around the crossing arms! What was he thinking?
Not to be offensive, but anyone driving around the railway crossing arms
deserves be removed from the gene pool. He could also have caused injuries or deaths to people on the train. He also took out his passenger.
i’m looking at Google street view and can’t figure out how a car could “navigate around the arms.” There are two arms from opposing directions and with all the sidewalks, curbs, fences, sign posts, landscaping, trees, and guardrails, it looks like there’s a 2-foot gap at most. It’s bewildering that anyone could find a way to go around these gates. Tragic.
I didn’t realize that the Light Rail system goes fast enough at intersections to kill anyone except a stray pedestrian. Maybe it’s just sheer mass and “just the right impact”.