An Altamont Corridor Express (otherwise known as an ACE) commuter train traveling from central California to the San Francisco Bay Area derailed Monday night and crashed into a creek, injuring 14 people. According to the Alameda County Fire Department, all passengers have been removed from the train, which derailed shortly after 7:15 p.m. near Niles Canyon Road in Sunol, California. Of the 214 passengers on the train, four suffered serious — but not life-threatening — injuries, and ten more had minor injuries.
Rescue crews had to fight the fast-moving creek to get passengers to safety. “It was dark, wet, it was raining. It was very chaotic,” Alameda County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly told KOTV6. “This is an absolute miracle that no one was killed.” Authorities say the crash was caused by a large tree that had fallen across the tracks. The train collided with the tree, sending the first car into the Alameda Creek. A second car derailed but remained upright, and all other cars stayed on the tracks.
The Los Angeles Times reports that buses picked up stranded passengers at the crash site Monday night; railway officials announced there would be no ACE train service Tuesday.
This post has been updated throughout.
