Freight Train Derailment Creates Traffic Tie-Up; None Injured

Workers used a crane to lift a seven-car train back onto the tracks after it derailed Thursday morning near Flower Street and Dyer Road, slowing auto traffic.

The Southern Pacific train, carrying paper and plastic products, tilted to one side after the rails spread beneath it. Santa Ana police said the derailment caused no injuries but tied up traffic for much of the afternoon.

The last cars of the train blocked eastbound traffic on Dyer. Westbound traffic was slowed to a crawl as workers lifted the engine back onto the tracks and moved the train to an undamaged section of rail.

The incident, which occurred alongside a storage warehouse, may have been caused by recent rains that softened the ground, allowing the tracks to spread apart, a Southern Pacific official said.