Amtrak train derails in central California, 30 injured

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Some 30 people were injured on Monday when a tractor-trailer truck crashed through a rail crossing signal and collided with an Amtrak passenger train in central California, causing the train to derail, authorities said.

There were no immediate reports of fatalities or critical injuries from the accident near the city of Hanford, about 30 miles south of Fresno, Kings County Assistant Sheriff Dave Putnam said.

"It doesn't appear that there are major injuries," Putnam said, describing the injuries as mostly cuts, scrapes and broken bones. "We had a life-flight helicopter standing by, but everybody was transported to the hospital by ground units."

Putnam said the truck slammed into the five-car passenger train shortly after noon, knocking three cars off the track.

Authorities have not yet determined why the truck driver, who was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries, did not stop at the gate.

Putnam said the southbound train rolling between the San Francisco Bay Area and Bakersfield derailed next to an alfalfa field outside Hanford. Dozens of emergency personnel set up a triage area in the field, he said.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Philip Barbara)