Commuter train collides with truck

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Dec 22, 2004 | by Ben Aguirre Jr., STAFF WRITER

FREMONT -- A 37-year-old Newark man was in critical condition Tuesday after his pickup truck was broadsided by a five-car commuter train.

Michael Kelm, an employee of Dun-Rite Excavating in Newark, was flown by helicopter to Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto with possible life-threatening injuries, said Fremont police Officer Mark Kratz. None of the 36 passengers on the train was injured.

The crash happened about 7:30 a.m. on the west end of Stevenson Boulevard near the Newark city limit. The 1-ton truck carrying dirt and rocks was driving on private property heading to a dump site when it was struck by Amtrak train 521, whichwas headed to San Jose from Sacramento, Kratz said.

The Capitol train, which usually travels about 50 to 70 mph, was traveling about 50 mph and slowing when it collided with the truck as it crossed the tracks, he said. It was slowing down because of a nearby construction site, Kratz said.

"You can see where one of the (truck's) wheels made it to the other side," he said.

The truck was hit, turned on its side and pushed 200 feet until it came to rest on the driver's side near the tracks. Kelm was ejected out of a 10-inch-wide window, but was able to talk to officers before he was taken to the hospital, Kratz said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, but Kratz said there is clear visibility for several hundred feet in each direction and there are no railroad crossing gates because the tracks are on private property.

Neither drugs nor alcohol appear to have been a contributing factor, he said.

The train was delayed for almost 21/2 hours while the next train was postponed for 90 minutes, said Amtrak spokeswoman Sarah Swain.

Passengers on the second train were transported to their destinations on Amtrak buses.

Staff writer Ben Aguirre Jr. covers police and the courts for The Argus. He can be reached at (510) 353-7011 or baguirre@angnewspapers.com.