L.A. County hospitals shared burden of injured Metrolink riders
About 15 area facilities treated 86 of the 135 wounded in the train collision but were prepared for more, officials say. The rest were treated at or near the scene in Chatsworth.
By helicopter, ambulance and, in some cases, personal automobiles, 86 injured Metrolink riders made their way to Los Angeles County hospitals after Friday's horrific head-on crash between a commuter train and a freight train.
Of 135 passengers who were hurt when a Metrolink commuter train carrying 220 people collided with a Union Pacific freight train, 49 were treated by emergency personnel at or near the Chatsworth scene for relatively minor cuts and bruises, county officials confirmed Monday. The others, ranging in age from 16 to 70, were dispersed to at least 15 area hospitals under a countywide emergency plan, with the most critically injured airlifted to trauma centers such as the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood and County-USC Medical Center in Boyle Heights.
Hospital officials generally agreed that they had been braced for worse than what they got, given the crash was the worst mass casualty tragedy in Los Angeles County since the Northridge earthquake.
"Some of the emergency medical personnel on the scene had thought there would be more victims" with serious to catastrophic injuries, said Stephen Jones, medical director of emergency services at Northridge Hospital Medical Center. "What happened, unfortunately, was there were very few survivors in [the] front [Metrolink car]."
Patients who were transported to hospitals had injuries from head to toe, ranging from cuts and bruises to internal organ trauma, concussions, punctured or collapsed lungs and broken ribs, legs and collarbones. Hospital representatives reported that dozens of patients were released over the weekend.
Of eight patients sent to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, three remained in stable condition Monday. "They're expected to make a full recovery," Jones said. One victim sustained a dislocated shoulder, with others suffering a spinal fracture, a chest injury, a broken collarbone and facial cuts.
At County-USC, which received five victims, one male patient died Saturday, bringing the death toll from the accident to 25. Two others, including one in critical condition, remained in the hospital, said spokeswoman Adelaida De La Cerda.
West Hills Hospital and Medical Center received two patients but had been braced for many more.
"I was amazed by how . . . few victims we got," said Cheryl Evans-Cobb, West Hills' director of emergency services. "We had told them we could take 80."
