An electric commuter train slammed into a bus near downtown Los Angeles on Friday morning, injuring at least 13 people, fire officials said.
The Metro Blue Line train was headed to neighbouring Long Beach carrying passengers. The bus was out of service. As many as two dozen people were hurt, but none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, fire department spokesperson Brian Humphrey said.
”We don’t know who had the right-of-way,” said Marc Littman, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates both the train and the bus.
The impact knocked the front car of the electric train off the track. The other cars remained on the track.
Littman said the authority was investigating the incident.
The crash comes just a week after a Metrolink commuter train smashed into a freight train in the San Fernando Valley, about 48km north-west of downtown, killing 25 people and injuring more than 130.
The Blue Line runs on 35km of track from downtown to the city of Long Beach, with other routes through Los Angeles county. — Sapa-AP