Photo by Ryan ZumMallen
UPDATE 4:20pm | About ten passengers riding in the train required medical assistance and were transported to local hospitals, according to Long Beach Police Department spokesperson Lisa Massacani at the scene. She did not immediately know the condition of the injured riders.
The northbound Metro is still running but authorities recommend that drivers avoid the area of Long Beach Boulevard south of Pacific Coast Highway completely. The smashed police car still remained wedged into the nose of the train as investigators attempt to determine what happened.
“There was no one else with [the injured officer] in the car, thank God,” said Massacani.
UPDATE 2:00pm: CBS2.com is reporting that Metro service in Long Beach has been shut down, while the Long Beach Fire Department Twitter feed seems to indicate that there may be other injuries besides the officer whose police vehicle was struck by the train.
More to come…
1:50pm | A Long Beach Police Department officer was rushed to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries today after his police vehicle was struck by the Metro Blue Line this afternoon. Police are still gathering information on how the incident occurred.
Around 1:00pm today, a train on the Metro Blue Line near Long Beach Blvd. and 16th Street collided with a police car. There is little information about what exactly happened, but the officer inside the vehicle had to be extricated to be treated.
“The Fire Department did have to assist and work on getting the officer out of the vehicle,” said Officer Israel Ramirez of the Long Beach Police Department.
The officer was taken to a hospital, and Ramirez says the injuries are not life threatening.
