One dead, 24 hurt in Ventura County train derailment

MOORPARK, Calif. - An Amtrak train carrying 88 people derailed Saturday after hitting a truck, killing one person and injuring at least 24 others, a fire department spokeswoman said.

Three of the five passenger cars derailed in the crash, said Ventura County Fire Department spokeswoman Sandi Wells.

One person in the truck was pronounced dead at the scene. Another was in critical condition with severe head injuries, according to a spokeswoman at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks.

From the train, 23 passengers were taken to hospitals with minor to moderate injuries while the others were escorted onto buses to wait while investigators conducted interviews, Wells said.

Wells said the train struck a tree-trimming truck at a crossing on private property three miles west of Moorpark, which is about 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The crossing was marked with a sign but had no gates or lights, she said.

The train was traveling northwest from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara on Amtrak's second busiest route.

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