21 injured as train collides with car and derails in Los Angeles

Twenty-one people have been hurt after a commuter train struck a car and derailed near the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Ten people were taken to hospital for treatment and two people, including the driver are in serious condition.

The accident occurred on Exposition Boulevard as the driver of a silver Hyundai Sonata attempted to make a left turn by crossing the eastbound train's tracks. The 21-year-old driver apparently failed to see the approaching train, which demolished the car.

The first two of the train's four carriages derailed but stayed upright.

"The vehicle got wedged in between a pole and the train, causing the train to dislodge," said Sergeant Michael Verlich from Los Angeles County's Sherriff Department.

The driver was trapped in his vehicle and had to be cut out of the vehicle.

"We had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate the driver, and we transported him to a local hospital. He was in extremely critical condition," Fire Captain Daniel Curry said at the scene.

Police closed a number of blocks of Exposition Boulevard as work began to remove the train.

The incident comes just a month after a Metrolink train derailed and collided with a tractor-trailer in Ventura County, injuring dozens. The truck driver escaped from the scene but was tracked down and arrested a few miles down the road.

The truck driver escaped from the scene but was tracked down and arrested a few miles down the road.

A total of 51 people were involved in the accident, with 28 transported to hospital and four in critical condition. On that occasion, all five of the train's carriages had been derailed and three were on their side.

Just a few weeks before the Ventura County incident, six people lost their lives in a deadly New York crash as a train slammed into a Mercedes SUV, which was pushed 1,000 feet down the snowy tracks.