Deadly Rail-Crossing Crashes Soar in California

Hit by a Metrolink train in Covina on Father's Day, a man and his 10-year-old niece are among the most recent victims of a soaring number of deadly collisions at California railroad crossings.

Earl Brown, 53, and his niece died Sunday after a commuter train slammed into the car as it was crossing the tracks. The car was knocked 75 feet. Brown's 12-year-old daughter survived but remains in critical condition.
Witnesses and Metrolink officials ar arguing about whether the gates worked properly that day.

Whatever the outcome, last year 36 people were killed in California when their vehicles were hit by trains on the tracks - up 64 percent from the previous year.

To prevent more collisions in Southern California, Metrolink is working on a security program to keep cars away from trains along its Antelope Valley and Ventura rail lines. The only other state that has had to go to this extreme is North Carolina.

Get the story HERE.

Why do you think the rate is high in California? Time to put video cameras at the gates and ticket drivers who ignore the warnings, the same way we do at red lights? Tell our blog.