News & Politics - Suicidal man causes train derailment in CA; 10 dead

mh67511 · 01-26-2005, 03:23 PM

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http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050126/050126_train_ss_promo.275w.jpg[/IMG]

At least 10 killed as California trains derail
Scores more injured in L.A. suburb of Glendale

GLENDALE, Calif. - A commuter train smashed into an SUV left on the tracks by a suicidal man early Wednesday, sending the train careening off the rails in a wreck that killed 10 people and injured about 200, authorities said. Dozens of the injured were in critical condition.

After the Metrolink train hit the SUV, it derailed and crashed with another train going in the opposite direction. Both trains landed on their sides, sending passengers tumbling down the aisles, authorities said.

The SUV driver apparently changed his mind about suicide and left the vehicle before it was hit, police Chief Randy Adams said. The man will be charged with homicide, he said. He was identified as Juan Manuel Alvarez, 26, of Compton.

“This whole incident was started by a deranged individual that was suicidal,” the chief told a press conference at the scene of mangled railcars north of downtown Los Angeles.

“I think his intent at that time was to take his own life but changed his mind prior to the train actually striking this vehicle,” the chief said. “He exited the vehicle and stood by as the southbound Metrolink train struck his vehicle, causing the train to derail and strike the northbound train.”

The man also had tried to slash his wrists and stabbed himself, the chief said.

"There is no terrorism or terrorist act involved," Adams said.

It was the worst rail accident in the United States since March 15, 1999, when an Amtrak train hit a truck and derailed near Bourbonnais, Ill., killing 11 people and injuring more than 100.

Employees of a nearby store and other train passengers rushed to pull the injured from the wreckage as firefighters converged on the scene.

Firefighters picked through twisted wreckage scattered across the tracks and carried wounded passengers from the trains to a triage center set up in a nearby parking lot.

“I heard a noise. It got louder and louder,” said passenger Diane Brady, 56, of Simi Valley. “And next thing I knew the train tilted, everyone was screaming and I held onto a pole for dear life. I held on for what seemed like a week and a half it seemed. It was a complete nightmare.”

After the train headed to Union Station struck the SUV, one of the trains was propelled into a Union Pacific locomotive parked on a side track, said Kathryn Blackwell, a spokeswoman for Union Pacific in Omaha, Neb.

In a light rain, nearly 300 firefighters were on the scene; some climbed ladders into windows of a battered train tipped onto its side. Los Angeles fire spokesman Brian Humphrey said firefighters freed about six people from the wreckage and no others were trapped.

Sheriff’s Deputy James Tutino, on his way into work from his home in Simi Valley, was killed in the crash, Los Angeles County Lee Baca said. He said Tutino had been with the department for more 23 years.

Dazed passengers, some limping, gathered at tables in a nearby store while the injured sprawled on mats before being whisked away to hospitals by more than 35 ambulances.

“For me this is the worst train accident that I have ever seen. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Los Angeles fire Capt. Rex Vilaubi told KNBC-TV.

One Metrolink car was sent twisting backward by the force of the crash, which occurred after 6 a.m. near the intersection of San Fernando Road and Chevy Chase Boulevard. A small fire that erupted in the crash was quickly extinguished by firefighters, Humphrey said.

Passenger Paul Konkirati, 28, of Burbank, said he was in a front car that broke in two.

“I felt the train sliding, so I braced myself and put my foot on the chair next to me and held onto a bar. We hit, and then somebody’s head landed on my thigh.”

Konkirati, his jeans covered in blood, said he tried to comfort the woman, “then it got really smoky, so smoky that I had to leave. I don’t know what happened to her.”

Workers at a Costco store near the accident ran out to help after the accident, which occurred in an industrial area with no homes nearby. There were no evacuations.

George Touma, 19, of Burbank said he was called by his mother, who was on one of the commuter trains.

“She told me she was bleeding in the head and her arm was really hurting,” said Touma, who was near the scene of the accident searching for her. “I’m really worried because she has vertigo and when I tried to call back she wouldn’t answer.

“She said she remembered hearing sequential loud noises and then somebody pulled her out of the train while it was burning. She was in a panicked mode, and now she’s not picking up.”

Union Pacific spokesman John Bromley said the track on which the crash occurred is owned and operated by Metrolink.

Metrolink began service in 1992 and operates seven lines, part of a multibillion-dollar transportation network aimed at reducing pollution and congestion in Southern California.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6870372/ (but there is a somewhat graphic pic at the top of story...man covered in blood)

*Circe* · 01-26-2005, 09:05 PM

I believe the death toll is up to twelve now. This is just horrible.

Grr! I'm so angry at that suicidal man! Why couldn't he had just jumped off the Pasadena bridge like all suicidal people in LA...

So he's to be prosecuted, but I'm conflicted on that. If he was suicidal, that means he must be dealings with a lot of problems, and the prospect of ending up in jail might just send him over the edge.

~Belle

No1important · 01-26-2005, 09:19 PM

I wonder why he did not try to move SUV instead of getting out and walking away. So many dead and hurt for no reason. If you are going to kill yourself there is no need to take others with you. He ruined his life anyways now and ruined so many innocent people's lives for no reason. A very sad and disturbong situation.

Kimberly · 01-26-2005, 09:27 PM

grr that makes me so mad if you want to hurt yourself fine. But to put other people in danger is just wrong.

Messed Up Girl · 01-27-2005, 01:12 AM

This whole incident just makes me angry.
Innocent people died just because one individual couldn't handle his life any more. A very cruel twist of fate.

Ai Ninjai · 01-27-2005, 04:56 AM

I wonder what the suicidal man is thinking now

Vampires_Bite · 01-27-2005, 05:54 AM

I have no respect for people who commit suicide in public. Sure your life is crap, sure its a cry for attention... but think about the people who have to see you or feel guilty about killing you (like if you jump out infront of a train, the driver might feel guilty)

This guy deserves to be locked away. And kept an eye on so he doesn't take the easy way out!

CrabbyCancer69 · 01-27-2005, 11:44 AM

anger and sadness all wrapped up together.

*Ledi* · 01-27-2005, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrabbyCancer69

anger and sadness all wrapped up together.

...

Ambular · 01-27-2005, 12:40 PM

Quote:

“I felt the train sliding, so I braced myself and put my foot on the chair next to me and held onto a bar. We hit, and then somebody’s head landed on my thigh.”

Oh my God

This is infuriating. Some of these people - those that lived - will be traumatized for the rest of their lives.

Suicide is an utterly selfish act, especially when you do it in a public place where it hurts others. This is just awful.

wanderer78 · 01-27-2005, 01:03 PM

This is such a big tragedy. Suicide is selfish regardless, but in this case especially so.

Lain · 01-27-2005, 11:39 PM

Update!!

Quote:

Suspect charged with murder in L.A. train crash
11 killed, two dozen in critical condition

NBC, MSNBC and news services
Updated: 7:45 p.m. ET Jan. 27, 2005

GLENDALE, Calif. - The suicidal man who authorities say caused the chain-reaction train derailment that killed 11 people has been charged with multiple counts of murder and could face the death penalty, the district attorney said Thursday.

Juan Manuel Alvarez, 25, left his sport utility vehicle on a railroad track Wednesday after changing his mind about committing suicide, authorities said. He was held without bail at a hospital’s jail ward after apparently slitting his own wrists and stabbing himself in the chest.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said prosecutors filed charges for 10 counts of murder with “special circumstances” of committing murder through a train derailment. Under state law, special circumstances allegations can make a defendant eligible for the death penalty.

Cooley said the complaint would be amended to add another count to refer to the 11th victim, found in the wreckage late Wednesday night.

Arraignment was initially planned for Thursday afternoon but was put off until Friday because of Alvarez’s medical condition.

Alvarez is cooperating in the investigation, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca told NBC News earlier on Thursday.

Eleven bodies have been recovered from the wreckage site. Some 180 people were injured. The last person reported missing was accounted-for Thursday and firefighters ended recovery efforts. All but one of the dead had been identified.

Baca said Alvarez went beyond leaving his car at a train crossing, instead driving it off the road and onto a railbed where the vehicle became trapped between two tracks.

Investigators say Alvarez stood by and watched the gruesome collision, which scattered wreckage and bodies over a quarter-mile of track.

'Deranged individual'
“This whole incident was started by a deranged individual that was suicidal,” Glendale police Chief Randy Adams said Wednesday. “I think his intent at that time was to take his own life but changed his mind prior to the train actually striking this vehicle.”

Alvarez was arrested at the scene shortly after the crash.

The crash was the worst U.S. rail tragedy since March 15, 1999, when an Amtrak train hit a truck and derailed near Bourbonnais, Ill., killing 11 people and injuring more than 100.

“I hope that we’re able to assess this in a way that we can figure out: Is there a way that we can stop one crazed individual from creating this kind of carnage?” Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn told reporters.

Two dozen in critical shape
Among the two women and nine men killed was a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy on his way to work. About two dozen people were hospitalized in critical condition.

Alvarez’s estranged wife, Carmelita Alvarez, had ordered him out of her home months ago, her family said, and in November she went to court seeking a temporary restraining order keeping him away from herself, their 3-year-old son, her mother, brother and other family members.

“He is using drugs and has been in and out of rehab twice,” she said in asking for the restraining order, which was granted Dec. 14. “He threatened to take our kid away and to hurt my family members,” she added. “He is planning on selling his vehicle to buy a gun and threatened to use it.”

Alvarez, who lived in a converted garage behind her sister’s home in suburban Compton, told the court her husband had damaged her family’s property and threatened to seek revenge on people he suspected of introducing her to another man. She said his drug use was triggering hallucinations.

She went into seclusion shortly after the crash.

“Whether we make any comment right now depends on my sister,” her brother, Ruben Ochoa, told The Associated Press outside the family home on Wednesday. “We’re not commenting right now.”

The victims of Wednesday’s crash included several public employees who worked in or around Los Angeles.

Among them was Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy James Tutino, 47, whose flag-draped body was saluted by law enforcement officers and firefighters as it was carried from the wreckage.

Metrolink, the Southern California commuter rail service that operates the train tracks, said it was the worst accident in its 13-year history.

Metrolink chief executive David Solow said the severity of the wreck was due to the car having been wedged tightly into the tracks, creating an “immovable object.”

'The train tilted'
The force of the collision hurled passengers down the trains’ aisles.

“It’s like we went from 55 to 60 (mph) to zero in two seconds flat,” one injured man told reporters.

“I heard a noise. It got louder and louder,” said passenger Diane Brady, 56, of Simi Valley. “And next thing I knew the train tilted, everyone was screaming and I held onto a pole for dear life. I held on for what seemed like a week and a half it seemed. It was a complete nightmare.”

First on the scene were workers at a Costco store next to the tracks. They helped take some of the injured away in shopping carts. Uninjured passengers also joined the rescue effort. As a light rain fell, more than 300 firefighters climbed ladders into windows of battered train cars to rescue scores of injured.

Costco employee Hugo Moran said an elderly man covered in blood and soot and with apparent broken arms and legs was pulled out of the wreckage but died soon after. Before he died, he thanked his rescuers and asked them to pray for him.

Another trapped man had used his own blood to write a note on a seat bottom. Using the heart symbol, he wrote “I love my kids” and “I love Leslie.”

The man’s identity wasn’t known, but Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Capt. Rex Vilaubi said he was removed from the wreckage alive.

The commuter trains also struck a parked freight train, sparking a brief fire.

Costco employee Jenny Doll said trapped passengers — some severely injured — screamed for help as flames raced toward the front of a train car and smoke and diesel fumes filled the air. Forklift operators, truck drivers and stock clerks worked side-by-side to pull victims out, using store shopping carts to wheel some of the most severely injured to safety.

“There were people stuck in the front. Everything was mangled,” Doll said. “You could not even tell that it was a train cab at all.”

I'm telling you, this guy deserved it. Suicide is wrong, yes, but if you really want to do it, do it some place where you don't take innocent lives down with you!

roswellain_chick16 · 01-28-2005, 02:08 AM

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Originally Posted by angel_boogiepop

I'm telling you, this guy deserved it. Suicide is wrong, yes, but if you really want to do it, do it some place where you don't take innocent lives down with you!

Yup

Instead of harming himself, family and HIS friends theres now 12 other peoples lives and their families that are ruined. Such a selfish act!!!

phyco52 · 01-28-2005, 01:19 PM

This just makes me sad............really.......really

roswellain_chick16 · 01-30-2005, 06:33 PM

Theres some really sad stuff lately phyco52

This guy is now going to have to deal with this for the rest of his life, sounds awful but he should have just stayed @ home and done it!!!


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