Monorail Riders Injured in Crash

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (AP) _ Two monorail trains crashed at the Minnesota Zoo on Saturday, injuring more than a dozen people, zoo officials said.

One train carrying 80 passengers rear-ended the other as about 70 passengers were disembarking about 1:30 p.m. Neither train left the tracks.

One person was airlifted to Regions Hospital in St. Paul and was listed in stable condition. Three adults were treated at another hospital for minor injuries and released, and at least a dozen other people were treated at the scene, officials said.

Connie Braziel, the zoo’s acting director, said the train operator radioed that she was having trouble with the controls and couldn’t get the train to slow down.

``She knew that she was going faster than she should and she radioed,″ Braziel said. ``That’s why we believe there was mechanical failure because the train did not slow down.″

The trains usually run at about 3 to 4 mph but can achieve speeds of 9 mph. It wasn’t immediately clear how fast the train was traveling before the impact.

Braziel said the monorail, which carries passengers through the zoo, will remain closed until the cause of the crash has been determined.

``The train’s been in operation for 22 years. We’ve never had an accident like this happen,″ Braziel said.