Twenty-eight people were injured, four of them in critically, after a Metrolink commuter train smashed into an abandoned produce truck left on the tracks shortly before 6 a.m. Tuesday. 

The train, which was heading from Ventura County to Los Angeles, carried about 50 passengers and derailed near Oxnard, California. Two of the four rail cars toppled over, but the locomotive, which drove the train from the back, remained upright.

Oxnard police found the driver of the truck disoriented more than a mile and a half  away from the scene.  Assistant Police Chief Jason Veritez said, “When he was located he appeared to be very unsettled so the extent or the cause of that is actually yet to be determined.”

The driver told police that he had made an early right turn, and his truck became lodged over the tracks. Veritez said that police are unaware whether he was on his regular route or if this was his first time in town. 

He has been identified as a 54-year-old male from Arizona. 

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The train was traveling along a straight stretch 65 miles long when it neared the crossing of East Fifth Street and South Rice Avenue. The engineer saw the truck and began braking. A Metrolink spokesperson told the Associated Press that he estimated the train was going somewhere between 40 and 50 mph when it hit the truck.

The truck split in half and had burst into flames by the time the Oxnard Fire Department arrived, with debris and wreckage strewn in a nearby intersection.

Oxnard Fire Department Chief James Williams said that his crews arrived on scene five minutes after the collision and immediately began performing EMS operations. The victims were transported to five local hospitals. 

Metrolink spokesperson Jeff Lustergarten remarked that the damage was lessened because of “collision energy management technology.” This prevents the cars from crumpling inward and inflicting more damage.

“It works kind of like a crumple bumper on a car," Lustergarten said, describing the technology. “It’s designed specifically to crumple rather than to absorb the energy of a crash.”

“I think we can safely say the technology worked. It minimized the impact of what would have been a serious collision,” he said. Lustergarten also commented that the National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, will conduct an investigation.

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Metrolink has experienced several accidents in recent years, some resulting in fatalities. 

In September 2008, a Metrolink commuter train struck a Union Pacific freight train near Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley, leaving 25 dead and over 100 injured. Investigators concluded that the engineer was texting moments before the collision, running and stop sign and causing the crash.

In 2005, a suicidal man parked his SUV over Metrolink tracks in Glendale, but abandoned his vehicle before the train arrived. There were 11 fatalities and over 180 injuries.

According to Lustergarten, it was after the 2005 incident that Metrolink decided to upgrade its cars safety features.There were no fatalities in Tuesday's accident.

Amtrak announced today that all Pacific Surtliner trains operating north of Los Angeles would be canceled for the remainder of the day. North- and Southbound Coast Starlight trains will begin and end in Emeryville. 

Reach staff reporter Jillian Littleton here.