Light-rail car, automobile collide; no injuries reported

A minor accident involving a Metro Light Rail car and sedan near 24th and Washington streets occurred Tuesday morning.

The light rail car was heading west when it collided with an Oldsmobile Royale headed north around 10:30 a.m.

The driver of the Oldsmobile, a 78-year-old woman, was shaken up but did not suffer injuries. She was not taken to the hospital. The light rail car sustained minor damages to the bumper but was intact with power.

Sgt. Tommy Thompson with Phoenix Police said the accident appears to be the fault of the vehicle’s driver. The investigation will be turned over to Phoenix Police Department Transit Bureau. Officials from Valley Metro, which oversees the Light Rail system, will conduct an internal investigation.

Larry Engleman, the director of safety and security with Valley Metro said it was the first reported accident involving the light rail.

“This breaks the ice,” Engleman said. “We've been operating these trains for over a year now. They have thousands of miles on them. We are very pleased we have not had a collision up to this point, but we knew it was going to happen someday.”

Metro Light Rail is testing vehicles throughout Phoenix, Mesa and Tempe. They run at anytime of day or night with as many as two or three Metros connected. Each vehicle is 90 feet long and weighs more than 100,000 pounds.

Any time the light rail is going through a city intersection, it can only be traveling a maximum of 35 mph.

The light rail is scheduled to open to the public on Dec. 27.

Metro Light Rail advises that drivers and pedestrians obey all traffic signals, look and listen for the train and always stay off the tracks.