Death toll rises in LA train crash

CHATSWORTH, Calif., Sept. 12 (UPI) -- At least 15 people were killed Friday afternoon when a Los Angeles commuter train collided head on with a freight train during the rush hour.

The two trains rammed together, leaving at least one car on the Metrolink train wrapped around the Union Pacific freight engine, the Los Angeles Times reported. A fire broke out and at least two commuter cars derailed.

The commuter train was believed to be carrying about 400 people. Officials said the death toll was likely to increase as rescue workers disentangle the wreckage.

At least 70 people were injured.

The collision in the city of Chatsworth occurred around 4:30 p.m. PDT.

Willie Castro, 67, sat on a plastic chair supplied by a helpful resident, waiting for medical assistance for what he thought might be a broken leg. He told the Times he was in the last car of the train.

"I was riding, sitting down, minding my own business, when all of a sudden -- boom, people go flying all over the place," he said. "Everyone started screaming. You could hear that everyone was in pain."

In 2005, 11 people died when a Metrolink train hit a sport utility vehicle that had stopped on the track in Glendale, Calif. The driver, who said he had planned to kill himself but changed his mind at the last minute, was later convicted of murder.