Los Angeles Train Collision
Engineer’s error caused wreck By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer
Sat Sep 13, 7:32 PM ET
”LOS ANGELES - A commuter train engineer who ran a stop signal was blamed Saturday for the nation’s deadliest rail disaster in 15 years, a wreck that killed 25 people and left such a mass of smoldering, twisted metal that it took nearly a day to recover all the bodies.”
“A preliminary investigation found that “it was a Metrolink engineer that failed to stop at a red signal and that was the probable cause” of Friday’s collision with a freight train in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell said. She said she believes the engineer, whose name was not released, is dead.”
Can someone explain why there wasn’t some kind of audible signal telling the engineer that there was a red light ahead? I know there are devices such as a “dead man switch” which the engineer must keep depressed and which is released if he should have a heart attack or fall asleeep. With all our leading edge technology, it seems incredible that user safety through accident prevention hinges strictly on what the engineer sees.
