A car sits on top of a curb after colliding with the Metro Blue Line. Photos and video by Dennis Dean.

Metro Blue Line service was temporarily interrupted Tuesday night after a car collided with a northbound train just before 9:00PM Tuesday night near the intersection of Long Beach Boulevard and Burnett Street.

The male driver, described as between 40 and 45 years old, was transported to a local trauma center, complaining of back pain. There were no passengers in the car.

Passengers on the train were evacuated using step ladders and no other injuries were reported by Metro. One woman who was on the Blue Line when the accident happened said that no one on the train really saw the accident occur, but there was a jolt before the train came to a stop and the operator announced that there had been an accident.

Metro Spokesperson Paul Gonzalez said the accident occurred at approximately 8:51PM when the late-model sedan—which was traveling north on Long Beach Boulevard parallel to the train—tried to turn left in front of the Blue Line onto Burnett Street. The car struck the right front of the front car of the train, sending the vehicle onto the curb of the east side of the street. One person inside the car was taken to an area hospital complaining of back pain, but Gonzalez said that a complete shutdown of service in the area was not planned.

“We had to turn back operations right now in the Long Beach loop but it’s not resulting in any delays,” Gonzalez said. “Essentially what we have is one train that is operating the Long Beach loop and it’s meeting the second train that’s coming to the Pacific Coast Highway station.”

He added that train involved in the crash was part of an active investigation and there was no approximation of how long it might be kept parked on the tracks near the Burnett and Long Beach Boulevard intersections.

Tanya Newton, a resident of the area near the crash said Burnett Street in particular is an area that is an active zone for auto accidents. She estimated that in her nearly five years of living on the street she’s witnessed some 30 accidents on Burnett, with Tuesday night’s being the fourth one involving an automobile and the Blue Line.

“These streets, they act like it’s the Grand Prix,” Newton said. “This is about the fourth one at this intersection alone. So, it’s the new year, so I guess that’s how we’re gonna start the new year out.”