Two people in a car died Sunday afternoon after the vehicle they were riding in collided with a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail train in San Jose, according to VTA.
About 20 passengers were on the train when the collision occurred at 12:34 p.m. in the area of Lincoln and Auzerais avenues, but they managed to escape unscathed, according to VTA. The train operator was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.
Surveillance video from a nearby establishment captured the vicious impact and the train dragging the crumpled car about 100 yards down the track.
The car was left in a mangled heap on the tracks, and the train, which was also damaged in the collision, derailed onto a bed of rocks separating a pair of tracks.
Witnesses reported seeing the car trying to get around the train at a crossing.
"People were screaming," Jose Zarate said. "I heard a crash, and I see the train actually crunching in on us like a tin can."
An overhead pole and wires that power the train were also damaged in the collision, according to VTA.
The transit agency launched a bus bridge between the Convention Center and Fruitdale stations while crews worked to clear the crash scene and make repairs.
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Crews working overnight were able to repair the tracks and overhead wires in time for the peak of the Monday morning commute, according to VTA.
All bus bridges in the area have since been canceled and normal service has resumed, but VTA warned commuters of possible scheduling delays because trains will roll through the area of the crash scene at 5 mph.
No other injuries were reported in the crash, and the victims' identities were not released Sunday.
