Metrolink

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After Plane Crash, Cops Rescue Pilot Seconds Before Train Hit

Watch as police pull pilot from small aircraft from tracks right before train smashes into it

(Newser) - One very lucky pilot in California is alive after surviving not one, but two back-to-back crashes over the weekend. Per the LAPD's Valley Bureau , a small plane lost power and crashed onto the railroad tracks in the Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles on Sunday, with ABC7 noting the accident...

Truck Driver Found 1.6 Miles From Metrolink Crash

Jose Alejandro Sanchez-Ramirez charged with felony hit-and-run

(Newser) - The driver whose truck was hit by an LA-bound Metrolink train yesterday , injuring around 30 people, was arrested and charged with felony hit-and-run after being found on foot more than a mile away. Oxnard police Assistant Chief Jason Benites says Jose Alejandro Sanchez-Ramirez, 54, was "disoriented," "unsettled,...

LA-Bound Train Plows Into Truck, Driver Flees

Some 30 injuries reported; driver has been apprehended

(Newser) - At least 30 people were reportedly injured after a Los Angeles-bound commuter train plowed into a truck on the tracks early today, reports KTLA , with three cars of the Metrolink train derailing and falling onto their sides. The crash, in Ventura County some 65 miles northwest of LA, was reported...

Engineer Sometimes Let Rail Buffs Take Controls: Feds

(Newser) - The engineer of the passenger train involved in the September collision that killed 25 people near Los Angeles sometimes allowed amateur rail buffs to ride with him and take the controls, the Times reports. Federal investigators today released evidence, including a text from the day of the crash: “I’...

Engineer Sent Texts Just Before Crash

Feds find message 22 seconds ahead of fatal Sept. 12 train wreck

(Newser) - The engineer steering the Metrolink train that crashed last month sent a text message 22 seconds before the fatal collision, the Los Angeles Times reports. Robert M. Sanchez sent 29 text messages Sept. 12, a federal investigation reveals. The commuter train ran through a red signal and hit a freight...

Is Metrolink Up to the Job? Train Crash Raises Doubts

AWOL execs slammed in aftermath of worst crash in decades

(Newser) - The country's deadliest train crash in decades has focused attention on mass transit carrier Metrolink, which operates on a shoestring budget and has many wondering whether it's up to the job, the Los Angeles Times reports. Five Southern California counties chip in to run the system, set up with relatively...

Metrolink Engineer's Teen Friends Mourn Online

Train lovers post tributes in web groups

(Newser) - A small but devoted group of teenage "railfans" has spent the week paying tribute online to the Metrolink train engineer who died in last week's crash in California, reports the LA Times. Most of them have avoided speaking with the press, but their grief comes through in postings on...

Double Jeopardy: Victim Was 'Hero' of Earlier LA Crash

Army vet who helped passengers in '05 wreck among Friday's 25 dead

(Newser) - Though Gregory Lintner walked away from a 2005 Metrolink crash that killed 11 people—eight in his train car—he remained haunted by it until last week, when he relived the nightmare. Lintner was one of 25 people who died during Friday’s ill-fated California ride, the Chicago Tribune reports....

LA Train Riders Mourn Victims
 LA Train Riders Mourn Victims 
Sep 15, 2008 3:19 PM CDT

LA Train Riders Mourn Victims

Cars half empty on first workday after crash; LA mayor among passengers

(Newser) - Los Angeles' mayor joined commuters on half-empty trains today, saying they were still "the safest option for commuters” despite the Friday crash that killed 25. Stations were visibly quieter as Metrolink workers assured passengers the trains were safer than freeways, the Times reports. While many stayed home, one rider...

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