It was one of those "how it could it happen" accidents? Two streetcars going down separate tracks on Spadina near Dundas somehow collided with each other around 3pm Tuesday, just as the rush hour was heating up.

Police say one of the vehicles jumped the tracks and ran straight into the other car. "It seemed like the northbound train got off the track and the nose headed right towards the left hand side of the streetcar," recalls Christina Paoletta, who was on one of them. "Crash! Bang! I was thrown out of my seat and the lady beside me was thrown out of her seat, too. So we were both on the floor ... I was crying, just from the shock."

She claims her back hurts and she plans to have her doctor check it out. Another man cut his hand and there were a few bumps and bruises. Three other people were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The damage to the streetcars - and the traffic along the busy route - was more severe. With both cars taking up space along Spadina, cars were forced to go around the mess as officials worked to clean up the accident scene. One of the vehicles has a huge warp in it and its windshield is cracked.

Experts are looking into why the car left the track but believe a switching error is to blame.