Railroad worker killed in Metrolink crash near El Monte

A Union Pacific employee sitting in a maintenance truck on a railway crossing east of El Monte was struck and killed by a Metrolink train Saturday morning. Three passengers on the train received injuries that were not life threatening.

Officials could not immediately explain why the truck was in the path of the train, or whether the truck was moving or parked, Metrolink spokeswoman Angie Starr said. There was no evidence that the Union Pacific employee wanted to be hit by the train, she said.

The Metrolink tracks at the accident site run parallel to Union Pacific's freight tracks.

"There is quite a lot of Union Pacific work going along throughout this area. It's not unusual to see a Union Pacific maintenance crew," Starr said.

The deceased person was responsible for maintaining Union Pacific's tracks, said Union Pacific spokesman Aaron Hunt. His name was not released.

"There are a number of reasons why he would have been in that area," such as inspecting track, Hunt said.

"Safety is a focus for us. Clearly, we're shocked and saddened by this," he said.

The truck was destroyed in the crash. There was minor damage to the front engine of Metrolink train No. 354, which had been headed to San Bernardino from downtown Los Angeles.

Metrolink, Union Pacific and Federal Railroad Administration officials were at the scene investigating the crash and interviewing witnesses. By 3:30 p.m., the coroner had departed, and the destroyed truck was being lifted off the tracks with a crane.

The crash occurred about 9:20 a.m. Train traffic has been halted for much of   Saturday on the San Bernardino line, and officials have set up a bus bridge to detour Metrolink passengers around the crash site.

The track crossing is located at Temple Avenue, near Valley Boulevard and the 605 Freeway. It straddles the City of Industry and the unincorporated community of Bassett, east of the San Gabriel River.

--- Rong-Gong Lin II

Related: Metrolink's Twitter page, with updates on disruptions in service

Related: Interactive Times database on accidents and collisions on Metrolink's system from 1993 to Sept. 2009.

Earlier: Truck driver killed in Metrolink crash near El Monte

Photo: An investigator examines the site of the crash that killed a Union Pacific employee and injured three train passengers. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Raul X. Garcia]

This is bizarre, I've seen a lot of those maintenance trucks on the tracks in this area lately while taping trains at the El Monte depot.

Very strange you would think they all would be on the same page.

[John L. Mendez]

As a Christian, I Pray for this victim's Salvation and may he Rest in Peace, Amen

[tony]

I guess thats where our increase is going to pay the victims family..

[Rob]

Ironic that the Metrolink train that fatally ran into a Union Pacific pickup truck today had the Metrolink Matters issue that touted the safety advantages of the two new South Korea rail cars. If there was any shock absorber in the “cow catcher” of this train there probably would not have been a fatality.
Passenger

[g o]

It might be worth the money to install & monitor video cameras at all train crossings.

[JOSE GALVES]

I WAS AT THE LIGHT WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURED AND QUITE FRANKLY IT LOOKED LIKE THE TRUCK DRIVER WANTED TO GET HIT BY THE TRAIN.

[Joe Perry]

This is tragic. I travel over that line every work day on the Metrolink and saw the track equipment on UP's siding at the scene on Friday evening. There are so many protective measures and procedures that are used by the railroads everyday that it is odd that this incident occurred at all.

My thoughts go out to all involved, including the UP worker's family, the Metrolink engineer, and the UP Railroad "family."

[JenniferK]

"Three passengers on the train received injuries that were not life threatening. "

I am so sick of hearing about Metrolink passenger being unnecessarily injured in Metrolink crashes.

Apparently this was a crash where a heavy train engine, and not a light weight cab car, hit the decedent's truck.

Why were passengers unnecessarily hurt?

Because the Metrolink's older train cars still have no passenger seat belts.

It is now nearly 8 years since the first Metrolink crash in which there were passenger deaths, the Placentia crash. Afterwards, we had dead passengers in the Burbank, Glendale and Chatsworth crashes.

Even worse, Metrolink doesn't want to make public any statistics about how many of its passengers have been significantly, if not severely injured since the Placentia crash in 2002. Metrolink doesn't want to admit how many of its passengers have been in a coma, and how many have been rendered paraplegics.

Time and time again expert witnesses testify that passenger injuries could have been avoided if the Metrolink passenger cars had seat belts.

While passengers inevitably die when train cars are crushed, like they were in the Glendale and Chatsworth crashes, passengers do not have to be thrown from their seats, and significantly if not severely injured in a Metrolink crash, which now happen with such frequency that they are completely forseeable.

The elected officials running Metrolink continue to be idiots, in refusing to install seat belts. Sorry to say it.

One would think that with all of their self aggrandizing brain power, described on Metrolink's website under "Directors", that they could figure out a way to find the $100 per seat [their estimate] of what it would cost to install seatbelts. It certainly sounds like the kind of "Federal economic stimulus program" where funds should be available.

Until Metrolink passenger cars have seat belts, each passenger death and each passenger injury is morally on these elected officials' heads:

Keith Millhouse (Chair) - Mr. Millhouse is a councilmember for the city of Moorpark, where he was first elected in 2000. A graduate of Pepperdine University and Pepperdine School of Law, he practices law in Westlake Village specializing in environmental litigation.

Richard Katz (Vice-Chair) - From 2001- 2006, Mr. Katz served on the State Water Resources Control Board. He served Governor Davis as his Senior Advisor on Energy and Water and led negotiations on the landmark Colorado River Agreement with the Federal Government, California Water Agencies, and the six other states. Mr. Katz served 16 years in the State Legislature beginning in 1980 including a term as the Democratic Leader. For 10 years, Mr. Katz Chaired the Assembly Transportation Committee, and is currently a member of the Metro Board of Directors (Mayor Appointee).

Michael Antonovich - Mr. Antonovich is a current member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 5th district.

Arthur "Art" Brown - Mr. Brown is Mayor Pro Tem, City of Buena Park

Daryl Busch - Mr. Busch is the Mayor City of Perris, California

Richard Dixon - Mr. Dixon is the Mayor Pro Tem of Lake Forest, California
In addition to his official City duties, Council Member Dixon has been in the insurance business since 1975 and started his own health insurance agency in 1987. He is also a Board Member of both the Crisis Assistance Program and Partners in Caring.

Paul Eaton - Mr. Eaton is Mayor of the City of Montclair.

Don Knabe - Mr. Knabe has been a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors since 1996

Patrick Morris - Retired Judge Morris is the Mayor of the City of San Bernardino. He is graduate of the University of Redlands, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and Stanford University School of Law. Judge Morris was appointed to the Superior Court Bench in 1976. For five years, from 1984 to 1989, Judge Morris was Presiding Judge of the San Bernardino County Juvenile Court. In 1990, Judge Morris was elected to a three-year term on the Executive Committee of the California Judges Association and served as President of the Association in 1992 and 1993.

Ara Najarian - Mr. Najarian is an elected member of the City Council of Glendale.

Ron Roberts - Mr. Roberts has served on the Temecula City Council since 1992 and has served as Mayor four times during his tenure.

All of the detail above is from Metrolink's official website:

http://www.metrolinktrains.com/about/?id=7

[r.pulido]

It was a shock to hear of the person that became deceased after being hit by the Metrolink yesterday. I personally knew this person, and I know that he would of never sat in his truck and waited for a train to hit him as Mr. Galves stated in his comment.
My condolences to his family and may he rest in peace.

[JRider]

JenniferK:

You clearly don't know what you're talking about. Thanks for participating, though.

[JenniferK]

Hey JRider, what part of my comment do you not understand?

As of Monday, March 22, 2010, Metrolink's customer service department confirmed to me that Metrolink trains do not have seatbelts....as if I didn't already know that because I am on the trains fairly regularly.

So exactly what is it that makes you say: "You clearly don't know what you're talking about".

The names and descriptions of the Metrolink Directors are straight off the Metrolink website.

The lists of the Metrolink crashes, and the fact that passengers are INJURED by being thrown from their seats are well documented, both by victim testimony and by expert witness reports in the 4 big Metrolink crash lawsuits so far.

The fact that the dead passengers were crushed by the train cars' structure, as opposed to being killed by being thrown from their seats, is straight out of lawsuit documents filed by Metrolink's attorneys.

The $100 per seat figure is from Francisco Oaxaca's comments to the Daily News.

It is you, JRider, who doesn't know what you are talking about.

[friend of family]

To all those people who keep saying negitive things about a personal friend of mine. It needs to stop he was a hardworking man who raised four amazing children. He also fought for our country. He would have never put his life are anyone else's life in danger.If you only knew how amazing he was. He was a leader and a fighter and most of all a loving and caring person.

[David]

Seatbelts on trains? And who is supposed to enforce this? How do you ensure that people actually use them? Do you realize that there is a larger liability by providing them and then they do not get used because people claim that nobody taught them how they work? Or that they must have failed and therefore the company must now pay more damages? Your comments make almost as much sense as putting seatbelts on public transit buses. Nobody will use them and they become an even bigger expense.