77-Year-Old Crashes Into Metrolink Train in Pacoima
PACOIMA, CA – A 77-year-old motorist walked away from a collision with a Metrolink commuter train in Pacoima last Saturday, sustaining minor injuries after his vehicle struck the train near the 118 Freeway. All 43 passengers aboard were assessed and reported no injuries.
The Los Angeles Fire Department dispatched firefighters and paramedics at 11:23 a.m. Saturday to 11130 N. San Fernando Road, near the 118 Freeway, after a vehicle struck a Metrolink train. When crews arrived, the vehicle was found in a nearby shopping center parking lot.
The motorist refused medical transport, the LAFD said. The 43 passengers on the train were assessed and no injuries were reported.
It was not immediately clear if the motorist was cited or arrested.
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The Pacoima Accident on the 118 Freeway
The collision occurred on a Saturday morning on San Fernando Road, a major north-south corridor through the northeastern San Fernando Valley that runs parallel to — and frequently intersects with — the Metrolink Antelope Valley Line, one of the busiest commuter rail lines serving communities between downtown Los Angeles and Lancaster.
The stretch of San Fernando Road near the 118 Freeway passes through Pacoima, a dense working-class neighborhood where at-grade rail crossings are common. At-grade crossings — where roadways and active rail lines intersect at the same level — are among the most consistently dangerous traffic configurations in California, and nationally account for hundreds of serious crashes and fatalities each year.
The driver’s age has drawn attention to the broader issue of older motorists and vehicle-related incidents. At 77, the driver falls into a demographic that federal traffic safety researchers have studied extensively. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has long documented that drivers 70 and older face increased crash risk tied to declining reaction time, vision changes and medication effects — factors that can be particularly consequential near rail crossings, where split-second decisions determine outcomes.
Rail Crossing Accidents and Personal Injury Law
When a vehicle strikes a commuter train, the legal picture is rarely straightforward. Multiple parties may bear responsibility depending on how an investigation unfolds: the driver, the entity responsible for maintaining the crossing, and in some cases the rail operator itself.
California law requires drivers to yield to trains at all marked railroad crossings, and failure to do so can constitute negligence per se — meaning the violation of a traffic safety law is itself treated as evidence of negligence. At the same time, crossing safety is a shared obligation. Public agencies and railroad operators are required to maintain adequate warning systems, sightlines and signage. When those systems fail or fall below required standards, liability can extend well beyond the driver.
For the 43 passengers aboard the Metrolink train, the incident may still carry legal weight even in the absence of reported injuries. In California, victims of rail accidents have the right to seek medical evaluation for delayed-onset injuries — conditions such as soft tissue damage, whiplash or concussion that may not register as symptoms immediately following a collision. Choosing not to seek medical care at the scene does not foreclose the right to pursue a personal injury claim if symptoms develop in the days or weeks that follow.