Officials in Encinitas, Calif., are studying a steeply sloping railroad crossing after a car carrier got stuck on the tracks last weekend and was struck by an Amtrak passenger train.

Though a sign warns truckers of the possibility of bottoming out on the tracks that cross Leucadia Boulevard off Coast Highway 101, Driver Manuel Diaz of M&F Diaz Trucking proceeded anyway. When the truck, carrying a single car, became stuck on the tracks, Diaz says he wanted to back up, but a vehicle behind him prevented him from doing so. When safety gates lowered, signaling an approaching train, Diaz abandoned his rig and fled to safety.
The train was traveling at about 85 mph and was unable to stop before smashing into the truck. The truck driver was not injured. Five passengers aboard the train -- three adults and two children -- were reported hurt. The incident delayed all train traffic between Los Angeles and San Diego.
Law enforcement officials say Diaz did nothing wrong and that the sign is only advisory. Two other drivers who bottomed their trucks at the same location in 1990 and '91 were ticketed for using an illegal truck route and other infractions, but Coast Highway 101 is a truck route and a sign guides motorists to Interstate 5 via Leucadia Boulevard.
Officials with the city and North County Transit District, which owns the tracks, will look at the crossing and the signage to see if they can be improved.