Man Dies 2 Days After His Car Is Hit by Train

SANTA ANA —  Brian Dean Baker, 24, died Friday, two days after the car he was driving was hit by a train, according to an official of Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

Baker, a lance corporal assigned to the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, was found semiconscious Wednesday morning in some bushes near the train crossing at Sand Canyon Avenue just southwest of the Santa Ana Freeway in Irvine.

California Highway Patrol officers said Baker was able to tell them he was driving to work and was combing his hair when he failed to see the railroad crossing gate.

Baker’s car crashed through the crossing gate and was hit by the Metrolink Commuter train. He was thrown 200 feet from his car by the force of the collision, the CHP said.

The commuter train, which began regular service only 24 hours earlier, was traveling north at 76 m.p.h. with more than 100 passengers when it smashed into Baker’s automobile, which was moving at 60 m.p.h. None of the train passengers were hurt, a CHP official said.

Baker is survived by his wife, Jennifer, and 7-month-old daughter, Brittany.