Metrolink Blames Dead Engineer for Train Wreck

By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 13, 2008 4:11 PM CDT
Metrolink Blames Dead Engineer for Train Wreck
Los Angeles City Fire Department firefighters and other local fire and rescue agencies render aid to victims after a commuter train crash in Los Angeles on Friday, Sept. 12, 2008.   (DAN STEINBERG)

A commuter train engineer who ran a stop signal was blamed today for the nation's deadliest rail disaster in 15 years, a wreck that killed at least 25 people with more bodies still to be pulled from the wreckage, the AP reports. 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 the collision, said a Metrolink spokeswoman.

The engineer, whose name was not released, is thought to be one of the fatalities. "When two trains are in the same place at the same time somebody's made a terrible mistake," said the spokeswoman. More bodies remained in the wreckage of a passenger car, but it was unclear how many. A total of 135 people were injured, with 81 transported to hospitals in serious or critical condition. (More train crash stories.)

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