FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) -- Federal officials are investigating why a commuter train crossed a set of tracks before the last car of a freight train heading in the opposite direction had gotten out of the way.

The Metrolink commuter train was carrying 65 passengers on Thursday when it collided with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight, injuring 15 people, spilling cargo and igniting fires.It was the first collision between trains for the 7-year-old Metrolink system connecting Los Angeles with neighboring counties.

The commuter train was bound from Los Angeles to south Orange County and Oceanside in north San Diego County. It apparently reached a switch between parallel tracks and struck the tail end of the 38-car freight heading to Los Angeles from Chicago.

The injured were taken to area hospitals and treated for mostly minor injuries. The most serious injuries were a broken arm and leg, said Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo.

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"Everybody was screaming. I was screaming ... I've never been that scared in my life," passenger Lamont Hawkins, 41, of Long Beach, told the Los Angeles Times.

The impact toppled freight cars loaded with parcel containers, starting fires amid the spilled cargo and under the Metrolink engine. The blazes were quickly extinguished.

The commuter cars remained on their tracks but the engine derailed.

Federal railroad authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating. Officials appeared to be looking into both human error and mechanical failure.

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