A driver hospitalized after colliding with a Metro train Saturday near USC in a crash that injured about 20 people was identified as a graduate production student at the school.
Jacob Fadley, 31, remained in critical condition Sunday. School officials said in a statement that Fadley is pursuing a filmmaking career.
"While Jacob was very seriously injured, he is currently in stable condition," said Dean Elizabeth Daley, of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. "We are hopeful that he will recover and be able to continue pursuing his dream of becoming a filmmaker."
Expo Line trains resumed passing USC Sunday. A total of 21 people were hurt to varying degrees in the crash between a three-car light rail train and Fadley's Hyundai Sonata.
There was still no indication whether a signal failure led to the crash, recorded by an onboard camera. That video was turned over to the Los Angeles Police Department's South Traffic Division, which handling the investigation, Metro spokesman Jose Ubaldo said.
The derailed train, wrapped with gigantic yellow and black "watch for train" signage, was placed back on the tracks late Saturday and brought to a Metro service yard.
The train operator was Kenneth Goss, a 29-year Metro veteran who is in his mid-50s. At first he was hospitalized in serious condition, but was later released and was recuperating at home, according to Ubaldo.
Nineteen other people, all train passengers, suffered minor injuries in the 10:50 a.m. Saturday crash and eight of them were taken to hospitals, Lenske said.
The train hit the Hyundai at a traffic signal between USC and the Museum of Natural History. Both were heading east, when the car made a left turn toward the USC gate and was hit by the electric light rail vehicle.
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Witnesses said after the Hyundai made the turn, it became wedged between a pole and the train, which derailed across both lanes of eastbound Exposition Boulevard next to the landmark Exposition Park rose garden.
Left turns such as that are regulated by a red or green left turn arrow, and there are flashing alarms for approaching trains, which are supposed to get "train stop" signals if cars are turning across the grade crossing.
The Metro Expo line was opened in 2012, and it runs along city streets for nearly its entire length from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City. It is now being extended to Santa Monica, also primarily along city streets and with overpasses only at a few crossings.
Its street crossings have long been a contention at USC. Civil engineering professor Najmedin Meshkati had issued warnings about these types of crashes in a study he wrote several years ago. He told the USC Daily Trojan Saturday that the grade crossings deserve new study by Metro and the California Public Utilities Commission.
