But 48 Million People could soon be facing it. Im wolf blitzer. Youre in the situation room. Breaking new. Experts from the National Transportation safety board are joining investigators at the scene of a fiery commuter train collision near los angeles. This was the scene moments after the train hit a produce truck. The truck driver says he turned onto the tracks rather than onto a nearby highway. But he got out. The train couldnt stop in time. Five cars derailed, three coming to rest on their sides. 28 people on the train are hurt 4 of them critically. Officials say special technology prevented the accident from being far worse. Well speak live with the former chair of the National Transportation safety board deborah hurz man. And our correspondents and analysts are standing by as well as our newsmakers to follow all the news breaking right now. Lets begin with our National Correspondent at the scene of the accident near oxnard california. Whats the latest youre hearing on the scene about this investigation . Well the investigation is still ongoing. Theyre trying to talk to the witnesses, and there were quite a few of them because the explosion here wolf was so loud. This fireball in the sky lit up the predawn hours. What happened here began with driver confusion. The driver of a produce truck got confused and thought that this railway was actually a roadway. He turned onto the tracks driving down those tracks. The oncoming train unable to hit the brakes in time to come to a full stop 49 people aboard who were just heading to work were thrown about this train. Three railcars are basically just lying on their sides like toys. There are a number of injuries three people remain critical. As far as the driver, you mentioned, wolf he was able to get out of his vehicle. But he did walk away about one to two miles away he was found wandering completely confused. But i is cooperating were told with investigators. The people who are critically injured are in intensive care at local hospitals . Is that right . Reporter yes. Three of them are. They are fight forge their lives, we are told. One of them is a conductor who did hit the emergency brake. He tried to stop the vehicle, simply could not stop in time. Were told that this train was traveling about 70 miles an hour. He just didnt have time. Other people had broken bones as well as head trauma. Its incredible, wolf. This could have been far worse had this new technology that you referenced not been in place. Oxnard california thank you. Todays accident in california comes just three weeks after the deadly commuter train wreck in new york. Yet another collision at a rail crossing. Brian todd has been looking into the persistent and deadly problems that were facing right now on the rails. A persistent problem, wolf even though, to many it would seem to be an easy hazard to avoid. At most intersections between train tracks and roads youve got barriers youve got bells, warning lights. But tonight Safety Experts are telling us these socalled highwaygrade crossings are deceptively dangerous. As crash investigators arrive on the scene of another accident between a train and a Motor Vehicle new concerns tonight about the safety of rail crossings. In california it was the truck driver Officials Say who took an incomplicationable wrong turn. Rather than make the right turn onto westbound fifth street it turned yoon to the Railroad Tracks. The driver was unhurt and experts say was fortunate to get away from the onrushing train. The power of the train impacting a vehicle is the same as a car libby of the Group Operation life saver says socalled highway grade crossings are often lethal intersections. Just this month, a net trohnorth train collided with an suv outside new york city, killing six people. The government says fatalities at Railroad Crossings have decreased about 75 in the u. S. Since the 1970s. But Safety Experts say there are still about 2,000 incidents a year at those crossings, more than 200 People Killed at those intersections last year. And a train hits a person or a vehicle every three hours in the u. S. Why . We think drivers are very distracted in their cars. Crossings like this, i think when the drivers approach, sometimes drivers are in a hurry in this society today. People feel very rushed and think they can beat a train. Other fact rz . Director snipe says there arent standard barriers or signals at every crossing. Trains are quieter and faster than they were. And vehicle drivers make tragic miscalculations. What is it that people dont understand . If a train is coming this way, it can take an average train up to a mile to stop. Thats the length of 18 football fields. So if a train sees something on the tracks it cant necessarily stop in time. Director snipe says if youre stuck on a track, some steps are obvious. Try to somehow get the vehicle off the track. If you cant, exit the vehicle and run. Now, what is not so obvious, libby rector snipe says if youre stuck at a place like this, say this is the Motor Vehicle here, and you have to run away from your vehicle and a train is coming this way, try to run toward the oncoming train but do it at a 45degree angle so youre running away from the track. That way you can avoid the collision coming this way and the debris that is all going to be coming this way. If you try to run this way, youre in trouble. Toward it but at a 45 degree angle angle. Drivers can alert the railroad thats something wrong, right . Most crossings have an Emergency Notification system with a telephone number on it where vehicle drivers who are stuck can run to the sign, call that number. Thats one of the signs there. If you want to know what it looks like. If you make that call, that will alert the railroad that there is something wrong with the track. If there is enough time they could possibly stop the train. Often as we know there isnt enough time but sometimes there is. Very useful information. Brian thanks very much. Lets get more now. Joining us in the situation room, the former ntsb chair deborah hursman. Thank you very much for joining us. The ntsb this is standard operating procedure, have now sent a go team to the site of the crash. What will they be looking for . Well, theyre going to be looking first to really gather up any perishable evidence. Theyll look to interview any witnesses and make sure that theyve really got that scene locked down. They want to capture any video or any black box type of recorders right away. Are trains secure right now . Because were seen these accidents, these Train Derailments aplenty in the last several weeks. You know, there was a discussion earlier, 2,000 of these events occur every year. What we see is that there are several hundred fatalities 250, across the u. S. And many more injuries. What we saw in new york three weeks ago and what we saw here in california are great examples of what we dont want to see happen. So weve got to do better serm as certainly as a society. And california leads the nation when it comes to fatalityies at grade crossings. We know the driver in this particular case was drive egg produce truck. Heres what worries a lot of experts smaeshl sespecially in this day of terror. What if the truck was loaded with explosives . How do you deal with that . You know, weve seen so many times that these events actually result in something much more catastrophic than expected. Certainly we often see the driver of the car the driver of the truck being injured. But three weeks ago we actually saw more fatalities on the train. I think those really demonstrate to us just in a single incident how catastrophic the outcome could be. Certainly if there was someone intending or purposeful in their efforts it could be even worse. This is the third Train Derailment this month alone. The metronorth disaster in westchester outside of new york city, the crude oil carrier derailment in West Virginia which was awful. I guess the bottom line question is is there a bigger problem were facing here in the United States with trains . You know i think there is a longstanding issue when it comes to grade crossing safety and so when we look at how to make improvements, it has to do with not just education of the driving population but also improved technology and improved devices at these grade crossings. And so a lot of work has been done, but certainly this type of situation is going to make people certainly in this busy corridor in california question the need of whether or not they need to do further investment to grade separate that road and the grade crossing with the train. Explain what you mean by grade crossing. Sure. There are over 200,000 atgrade intersections. Thats where the road and train tracks are going to cross each other. There are over 200,000 of these across the u. S. About half of the accidents that occur about half of the collisions, 50 of them that involve fatalities actually occur at active grade crossings. So some crossings only have a sign the cross buck to tell you theres a train. And the drivers are responsible for stopping looking and listening. But others have active devices. They have bells. They have gates. They have lights that flash. But we see 50 of the fatalities still occurring at those actively protected grade crossings. So its really important for drivers not only to observe those crossings but not try to beat the train. Dont be impatient and certainly dont be distracted when youre at a grade crossing so you miss hearing those bells and miss seeing the lights and those gates coming down. A lot of people think theyre faster than the train and try to zip across the tracks when ub unfortunately its too late as you point out, for them and the train. So in this particular case, it was 5 30 a. M. Local time. A produce truck driver makes a wrong turn drives into this area. Obviously eventually sees this train coming and starts running away. So how do you deal with this . Whats the most important lesson we should learn from what happened this morning outside of los angeles . Well, i think it certainly is about being aware of your surroundings and making sure that particularly in dark nighttime conditions that you are very cautious if youre not familiar with the area making sure youre well rested so youre not fatigued. And not distracted. So once you get onto those tracks and certainly with certain kinds of trucks in certain situations if you get stuck on those tracks, theres very little that can be donnelle. Its about knowing where you are and not getting into that situation in the first place. Good advice. Deborah hersman, i want you to stand by. Well have much more on the story coming up. I want to take a quick break. Well be right back. Photos are great for capturing your world. And now they can transform it. With the new angies list app, you can get projects done in a snap. Take a photo of your project or just tell us what you need done and angies list will find a top rated provider to do the job. The angies list app is the simple, new way to get work done on your schedule. The app makes it easy, the power of angies list makes it work. Call, click or download the app for free today. I bring the gift of the name your price tool to help you find a price that fits your budget. Uhoh. The name your price tool. Shes not to be trusted. Kill her. Flo it will save you money the name your price tool isnt witchcraft and i didnt turn your daughter into a rooster. She just looks like that. Burn the witch the name your price tool a dangerously progressive idea. We live in a pick and choose world. Choose choose choose. But at bedtime . Why settle for this . Enter sleep number. Dont miss the final days of the ultimate sleep number event. Sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. You like the bed soft. Hes more hardcore. So your sleep goes from good to great to wow now we can all choose amazing sleep, only at a sleep number store. Right now save 50 on the ultimate limited edition bed. Hurry, ends sunday know better sleep, with sleep number. Open a day when activists report the kidnapping of dozens of christians from isis president obama invited a crucial ally which provides American Forces with a launching point for attacks against isis. But there are also new questions on whether that ally secretly supports some terrorists. Our White House Correspondent michelle kaosinski is looking into the question. Reporter the white house keeps emphasizing the importance of regional arab partnerships but the relationships can be complicated to say the least. Interesting today to see the president sit down with the amir of qatar which has been criticized with one of the top sources of private funding for isis and other terror groups. As syrias civil war rages on isis this morning kidnaps some 90 christians from northeastern towns, according to a human rights group. Spreading its reach while kurdish and syrian fighters on the ground try to battle it back. Secretary of state john kerry today defended the u. S. Response. What we have here is a criminal anarchy that we are fighting that is trying to claim legitimacy under religion and a whole bunch of people are fight fighting back. Reporter at the white house, the amir of qatar was welcomed. We had a significant meeting of the minds. We are both committed to make sure isil is defeated. Reporter committed and meeting of the minds isnt exactly a view shared by everyone. According to reports qatar is the biggest source of private funding for isis. At the same time that its home to a key u. S. Air base for launching air strikes against the terrorists. Qatars stateendorsed main mosque has hosted a study streak of egypt started bombing isis in libya this month, qatar opposed it. Accurate numbers are hard to come by on how much money flows from wealthy donors to isis thought to be significant only part of a total of isis daily haul of around 1 million. Do you acknowledge that sutqatar has been a source of private donations to isis and other terrorist groups . Michelle whashgs we acknowledge is that there are areas where we disagree with the qatarees but more often we find that our interests overlap. Reporter can you say whether pressure is on thim now to stop the financing . We believe theres more we can do together to shut down the financing of terror operations around the globe. Reporter other u. S. Allies in this fight, saudi arabia, kuwait, have been accused of not doing enough to crack down on the private forces of funding. The whies white house will continue to work with qatar has been a, quote, effective partner partner. As the president said to cnn in an interview, sometimes you have to balance these issue was the immediate fight at hand wolf. Michelle kosinski at the white house thank you. Meanwhile new Terror Threats are emerging every day. Thanks to partisan gridlock on capitol hill, the department of Homeland Security, which is supposed to protect all of us, is due to run out much funds in four days. Are we looking at a potentially very dangerous shutdown. Dana bash has the latest. Reporter wolf, the chances of that diminished greatly just in the past couple of hours because the Senate Republican leader effectively caved to what democrats have been demanding, a clean vote on the funding bill for the department of Homeland Security. But going from that concession to votes in the senate and the house could take time and as you said just four days until it runs out of money. Unless Congress Acts the tsa which keeps airports safe the coast guard which keeps americas waters safe and the secret service which keeps the president safe, would lose funding. Let the department of Homeland Security do its job for america for americans. Democrats continue to try to protect funding for the president s unconstitutional actions. Reporter tonight Senate Republicans backed off a bit, saying they would fund Homeland Security as democrats demanded as long as they also vote to end the president s plan giving legal status to millions of undocumented grants. An opportunity for them to express their disapproval of what the president did in november. Reporter but democrats want assurances House Republicans will fully fund Homeland Security. The burden is on the republicans, what theyre doing is wrong for the country and they not only will be blamed they should be blamed for it. Reporter if the department does shut down it would mean some 30,000 furloughs. But the vast majority of workers from tsa to Border Patrol to secret Service Agents would still be required to work in most cases without pay. They would have to come to work. So is it really going to be that big of a deal to most of your agency to when it comes to the risk to this country . Yes, it is that big of deal. Lets not forget the department of Homeland Security interface was the American Public more than any other department in the government. At airports at ports. Reporter this is the first big leadership test for republicans since taking control of congress, proving they can govern yet still emgracing conservatives who want to challenge the president. And it success a test for freshmen republicans who campaigned on ending washington dysfunction. Theres a difference between having a dysfunction in which a system work and a case of where you have disagreements among members of the United States senate. Having disagreements reporter which is this . This is a disagreement among the United States senate. Reporter its pretty dysfunctional to be on the brink of the Homeland Security department shutting down. Were not there right now. They were smart enough to extend it before. Reporter and it looks like that could happen again. But if you call it dysfunction or disagreeme