Amtrak train, truck collide in northern California

OAKLAND, Calif (Reuters) - An Amtrak passenger train and a farm truck collided Friday evening at a northern California rail crossing, and nearly 40 passengers were taken to hospitals for treatment of minor injuries, an Amtrak spokeswoman said on Saturday.

All of the injured were released without being hospitalized, spokeswoman Vernae Graham said, adding that the train later completed its run from Oakland to Bakersfield with a majority of the original passengers on board.

The train, carrying a total of 191 passengers and crew, collided with the truck at about 7:15 p.m. local time at a crossing near Antioch, about 30 miles northeast of Oakland, Graham said.

The front-leading cab car, damaged in the crash, was removed to a side track and replaced with a freight locomotive brought in to pull the train for the remainder of its trip, Graham said.

She said the crossing where the incident occurred was a private one marked by a railroad crossing sign, but it was not equipped with warning lights or gates.

There was no immediate official word on the fate of the truck driver, but Graham said she understood the driver suffered relatively minor injuries.

(Reporting by Laird Harrison and Steve Gorman; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Jerry Norton)