LA commuter train wreck

[Gn2Dlnd]

So, Metrolink is saying their driver (who did not survive the crash) failed to stop for a red signal.

Current death toll at 24.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Gn2Dlnd

So, Metrolink is saying their driver (who did not survive the crash) failed to stop for a red signal.

Something tells me that Denise Tyrell will have a different job next week for coming out with this info so soon.

And if anybody cares, here is a satellite view of where the accident was. The grass area on the right is the triage area you see in news footage and I believe the point of impact is right around the middle of this screen. Most of the ground shots are coming from the upper right of the screen and the early shots were taken from Topanga Canyon Blvd about where it goes over the tracks.

[~MS~]

Actually she did a smart thing stepping up and releasing that information before it got leaked. Hubby worked for Union Pacific for 30 years, the number of people who know what went wrong within hours is enough to have the potential for leaks and even more speculation. Signals are activated by the trains making the connection on that specific part of the track. computers let dispatch know where every train on the track is and tells the trains who has to pull over and wait for an oncoming train. One of the first things that happened in the discovery process was they had signal maintainers out there checking all the signals to make sure they were in proper operational status matching what the computer registered. The fact that it was human error was apparent in short order. My heart goes out to all the victims but I find it ironic that not one mention of the lost of the freight crew has been made in any report I've read, 3 crew were aboard that engine and I'm 99.9 percent sure all 3 perished.

[Stan4dSteph]

There was a mention today in the LA Times that the most recent victim removed was possibly the engineer of the UP freight train. The article said that UP had not made a statement, and that it was difficult going trying to cut through the wreckage to reach the areas where there might still be survivors. Perhaps they haven't said anything because they haven't recovered the UP crew yet, and there is a very slim possibility that they are alive. Just a thought.

It's too bad the rail system in this country is so underdeveloped. Freight and passenger trains having to share the same rails is what causes huge Amtrak delays on the lines out this way.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by ~MS~

My heart goes out to all the victims but I find it ironic that not one mention of the lost of the freight crew has been made in any report I've read, 3 crew were aboard that engine and I'm 99.9 percent sure all 3 perished.

If it makes you feel any better, there have been many mentions on the reports I was listening to early (radio - KNX 1070). Although they mentioned that it was only two on the freight train (not uncommon to have incorrect details early on).

One small thing I DID have an issue with last night was the special honor procession for the LAPD officer when they brought out her body (if you didn't see it, a couple of hundred LAPD and LASD officers lined the route when they carried the body from the train wreckage to the triage area). The reason is pissed me off is (since she wasn't killed in the line of duty - she was just another commuter on her way home) was that they brought in off-duty officers to help create the honor line. If someone that belonged to just about any other group been killed, they would not have been allowed to bring in lines of people to provide an honor guard for their fallen friend.

If for example, one of the dead was an employee of Edison, would a couple of hundred Edison employees have been allowed to create the same honor processional.

Again, not a big beef: just something I noticed.

[madmonkeygirl]

I really hope texting was not involved in the factor. I really do for all those lives lost at the hands of that conductor. Yes many people do break the rules when it comes to cell phones, internet, texting etc while at work but in this case when someone is in charge of driving a Metrolink train or any public transportation including aeroplanes and have peoples lives in their hands texting should be the last thing they are doing while working.

[Tenigma]

From the Orange County Register:

"Nick Williams, a teenage train enthusiast, told CBS2 in Los Angeles he exchanged three text messages with engineer Robert Sanchez Friday afternoon. Williams, who considered Sanchez a “mentor,” received the last text at 4:22 p.m., one minute before the train wreck, according to the ocregister.com report. Williams' claims have not been confirmed.

Sanchez, who was killed in the crash, said in his final text he would be meeting up with another passenger train later that day.

“I just replied back, 'good deal,' and I just said, 'That's cool,' and I never got a response back," Williams reportedly told CBS2."