NTSB Official Clarifies Statement on California Train Derailment

KABC-TV(OXNARD, Calif.) — The National Transportation Safety Board says that the truck that caused Tuesday’s train derailment in Oxnard may have been stuck on the tracks when it was struck, though it was not stuck at the railroad crossing.

NTSB Board Member Robert Sumwalt was forced to clarify his comments on Wednesday evening, saying that “this was not a traditional grade crossing accident.” Earlier, he had said that the truck was “not actually stuck on the track,” when he says he intended to tell reporters that the truck wasn’t stuck at a crossing, and that the determination as to whether or not the truck was stuck has not yet been made.

The driver of the truck, identified as Jose Alejandro Sanchez Ramirez, fled the scene, but was found uninjured 1.6 miles away. He was not in the truck at the time of the collision, according to Oxnard Police Department Assistant Police Chief Jason Benites.

Benites said that Ramirez was driving a produce truck when he turned right onto the tracks.

Police and the truck driver’s attorney have said he was stuck.

At least 28 people were injured in the crash, including at least four critically.

World News Videos | US News Videos

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.