XPost: ba.transportation, sac.politics, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
XPost: alt.politics.liberalism

Two members of longtime Oakland rhythm and blues band Tower of
Power were hit by a train in Oakland near Jack London Square on
Thursday night minutes before a scheduled show at Yoshi’s.

Longtime drummer David Garibaldi and bassist Marc Van Wageningen
were struck by an Amtrak train passing outside the popular venue
shortly before their show that was scheduled for 8 p.m., said
Jeremy Westby, a publicist for the group, which has been
performing since the late 1960s.

Both men were taken to the hospital in critical condition after
the accident, said Sgt. Aaron Smith of the Oakland Police
Department.

A group of four people tried to cross the tracks — while the
warning guard arms were still down — toward Yoshi’s after a
freight train slowly chugged by, Smith said.

But the pedestrians didn’t see the Amtrak train traveling about
25 mph from the opposite direction on another track, he said.
Two were able to jump out of the way, but Garibaldi and Van
Wageningen were not.

Both men were rushed to nearby Highland Hospital in critical
condition, Smith said. Both regained consciousness at the
hospital, Westby said.

Both of their scheduled shows at Yoshi’s — an annual affair —
were canceled after the accident, said Hal Campos, the club’s
general manager.

Though Campos said he didn’t see the train strike, he ran out
when he heard the shouts and called 911. Both men got hit by the
train and thrown through the air in opposite directions, he
said, based on multiple witness accounts.

“The only thing that went through my mind was, ‘Is he OK? Is he
going to come out of this 100 percent?’” Campos said, adding
that they were unconscious when he found them.

The train that hit the men was a Capitol Corridor commuting line
that runs between Sacramento and San Jose, said an Amtrak
spokeswoman.

Witnesses told police that the train’s operator was sounding the
horn when the accident occurred, Smith said.
Known for its hard-driving horn section, Tower of Power now has
10 members, with more than 50 past musicians among its ranks.
The band’s hits include “You’re Still a Young Man” and “What is
Hip?,” which was co-written by Garibaldi. He joined the band in
1970.

The group’s performance at Yoshi’s is always an anticipated
annual highlight for the venue and the band’s fans, Campos said.

Though he didn’t know the two men personally, he said the band
was “like family” to Yoshi’s, a place it has been playing as
long as most anyone can remember. The band members were headed
from a hotel nearby when the train struck, he said.

“The shows were canceled and all that, but that doesn’t matter,”
Campos said. “We’ll refund our customers. But what matters here
is their life.”

Michael Bodley and John King are San Francisco Chronicle staff
writers. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com, jking@sfchronicle.com
Twitter: @michael_bodley, @johnkingsfchron

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/2-pedestrians-hit-by-train-
in-Oakland-near-estuary-10854827.php

--- SoupGate/W32 v1.03
 * Origin: LiveWire BBS -=*=- UseNet FTN Gateway (1:2320/1)