A crash involving a big rig and a car sent the truck careening through the center divider of the eastbound Foothill (210) Freeway and onto Metro Gold Line tracks in Pasadena Thursday, leaving a motorist injured and causing rail service delays expected to continue into Friday afternoon.
The two-vehicle collision was reported about 4:40 a.m., east of San Gabriel Boulevard, the California Highway Patrol said.
The crash prompted the closure of the eastbound carpool and two left main lanes; in addtion to the Gold Line tracks along the freeway median, halting train service between the Sierra Madre and Lake stations, Metro spokesman Rick Jager said.
Metro provided shuttle bus service for rail passengers between the two stations. By late morning, the rail service interruption was narrowed to the area between the Sierra Madre and Allen stations.
According to the CHP, the big rig and a Nissan Altima collided in the area, leaving the damaged truck on the Gold Line tracks, and the Altima overturned.
The driver of the Altima suffered from “pain to her arms and chest area, and (she) was transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital for evaluation,” the CHP said in a statement.
Officers closed the carpool and two left main lanes and the San Gabriel Boulevard onramp to the eastbound freeway while crews worked to clear the scene.
Jager said Gold Line trains “are operating from East L.A. all the way up to the Allen station, where they turn around and come back, and then the trains are running from Azusa to the Sierra Madre Villa station and then turning back there,” Jager said.
The crashed big rig was removed from the tracks by late afternoon, but Metro spokesman Dave Sotero said it would likely take until Friday afternoon to complete repairs to the Gold Line. He noted that crews will need to repair the overhead power system, install a new power pole, then inspect the tracks to ensure they were not damaged.
“We’re working as quickly as possible to make all the repairs … but we had to wait until the big rig was taken off the tracks,” he said. “The bus bridge will definitely be in place tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon.”
Commuters were advised to plan ahead and anticipate delays as they rely on the shuttle buses between the two stations.
Sotero said the entire Gold Line, which stretches from East Los Angeles to Azusa, averages about 53,000 boardings on weekdays.
Metro officials suggested people consider using parallel bus service that runs along Colorado Boulevard on lines 180, 181 and 187.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the crash. Anyone with information on the crash was urged to call the CHP Altadena Area office at (626) 296-8100.
—City News Service