Two commuter trains and a freight train crashed in Los Angeles Wednesday after one hit a car on the tracks, leaving at least nine people dead and more than 100 injured, police said Tuesday. There was no indication of what the car was doing on the tracks. The accident happened shortly after 6 a.m. as the local rush hour was starting and the trains were full of passengers. A southbound commuter train hit the car on the tracks before derailing and slamming into the other two trains. The driver of the vehicle survived the impact, Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca told a news conference. Live television showed several cars of the double-decker trains lying on their sides like broken toys as firefighters swarmed over the smouldering wreckage to try to rescue survivors. At least four passenger cars appeared to be severely damaged in the incident. There was no sign of the car in the pile of mangled debris. According to Baca, about 100 victims were transferred to area hospitals, with at least 30 listed in critical condition. "I felt as though we were hit with rocks, and the train started moving really hard," passenger Brenda Aguilar said. "People literally started flying." --SP 2213 Local Time 1913 GMT
