By Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
cwootson@charlotteobserver.com

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Accident Division and CATS authorities inspect the tracks and train Thursday, September 22, 2011, involved in an accident with a pedestrian crossing the walkway. The pedestrian was taken to Carolina Medical with serious injuries. T.Ortega Gaines - ogaines@charlotteobserver.com

A woman was in the hospital after being struck by a light rail train in the 3700 block of South Boulevard.

The collision happened around 7:40 a.m. at the Scaleybark Station. About 15 people were on board when the train hit the woman. No one inside the cars was injured. Train service was restricted to a single track as police investigated, causing delays during the rail line's busy rush hour.

Investigators had not released the name of the woman, but she was rushed to Carolinas Medical Center as a "priority patient," according to Charlotte Fire Department Spokesman Capt. Mark Basnight.

Light rail service was delayed by about 10 minutes, according to Jean Leier, CATS spokesperson.

Police hadn't released a narrative of what happened early Thursday.

About a dozen police cars with flashing lights were at the station. Police homicide investigators and crime scene investigators could be seen on the track in front of the train and taking measurements at the station.

They focused on the section of the track that includes the crosswalk from the Scaleybark park-and-ride lot across South Boulevard. The woman's mangled black umbrella could be seen caught in a handrail as police officers took picture of the front of the train and, later, the tracks.

A computerized voice told passengers "The Lynx light rail is experiencing delays because of technical difficulties."

Leier did not know how fast Train 120-B was going when the collision happened. Trains typically brake as they enter a station, she added.

Thursday's collision was the second light-rail related safety issue in less than a week.

Last Friday a large piece of debris - about 30 to 50 pounds and the size of a small person - fell from the Westin Hotel uptown onto the light rail track. The incident is still under investigation, but it prompted officials from the Westin to place netting around the hotel to funnel debris away from the tracks.

The site of Thursday's collision was a stone's throw from the site of the first fatality related to the light rail.

In November 2007, a man sitting on the light rail track in south Charlotte died after authorities said he was struck by a train on a test run. Investigators ruled the death a suicide.

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