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21 Hurt, 2 Severely After Expo Line Train Crashes Into Car

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Ten people were hospitalized Saturday morning, and another 11 suffered lesser injuries, after a Metro Expo Line train crashed into a car and partially derailed near USC, authorities said.

The crash occurred on Exposition Boulevard between the USC and the Museum of Natural History just before 11 a.m., according to Shawn Lenske of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

According to Metro, the Hyndai Sonata and the train were both traveling eastbound on Exposition when the driver of the car turned north on USC Walkway, in front of the train.

Lenske said of the 21 injured, 10 patients were transported to a hospital for treatment. Eight of those hospitalized were listed in minor condition; one person was critical and another in grave condition, according to LAFD.

The driver of the vehicle, identified by police as a USC film student, was extricated using the Jaws of Life.

A source told CBS2/KCAL9 part of a nearby steel fence penetrated the train operator's area in the front and the operator suffered serious injuries. Metro later identified the operator as Kenneth Goss. A spokesperson said he is in his 50s and has been with the agency for 29 years.

Extra train service was planned for a sold-out soccer match between Mexico and Ecuador at the LA Coliseum Saturday evening, and the transit agency said it is working as quickly as possible to clear the wreckage so Expo Line service can be restored. The agency is planning to use a bus "bridge" to take passengers between the Vermont and 23rd Street stations on the Expo Line.

Eastbound lanes of Exposition Boulevard remained closed in the vicinity of the crash, restricting access to USC. Officials there said Gate 5, at Jefferson and McClintock, should be used to enter and exit the campus.

The westbound lanes of Exposition Boulevard reopened shortly before 4:30 p.m.

Metro plans to have trains running near USC in the early hours of Sunday morning.

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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