Pickup truck slams into BART train after careening through fence near Lake Merritt station
OAKLAND -- A pickup truck slammed through a chain link fence late Monday night, careening onto the BART tracks, crashing into a passing commuter train and injuring three people including the operator, authorities and passengers said.
BART spokesman James Allison said the incident took place at about 11:35 p.m. near East 8th Street near Park Way between Lake Merritt and the Coliseum stations.
Among the passengers in the Daly City-bound train was Patrick McCue.
"We were on our way to the city when all of a sudden the train started acting erratically -- it was bouncing around the tracks," he said. "Then I saw sparks out the window and felt a collision. People were talking about something being on fire. Everyone was told to get to the front of the train."
A truck had careened through the chain link fence separating the tracks from the street. It had crashed into the front of the train, injuring the female operator, who was hospitalized with undisclosed injuries.
Passenger Hartap Bal said there was panic on the train after the crash.
"I thought it was going to derail or something," he said. "After the crash, there was a lot of panic. People didn't know what to do."
Allison said about 45 passengers on the train at the time. They were forced to evacuate and walk down the tracks to an exit point with the aid of police and firefighters.
Two passengers were treated at the scene for injuries.
Crews worked overnight to repair the damage to the tracks and remove the train. Service was back to normal by the morning commute.
On video the truck driver is seen being administered a field sobriety test. The crash was being investigated by Oakland police.