"I can't believe someone could be texting while driving a train." That was the conclusion of Denise Tyrell, a spokesperson for Metrolink, on reports that train engineer Robert Sanchez might have been texting with teenage train enthusiasts immediately before the crash.
So far, the National Transportation Safety Board has not recovered his phone and has requested copies of the phone records of both the engineers and his fans. But a CBS affiliate talked with the teenagers and looked at the messages sent and received just minutes before the crash.
Metrolink, the public agency that operates commuter train service on five regional lines (Ventura County, Antelope Valley, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange County) in Southern California, has suspended all use of text messaging after the deadly crash of Train 111 last Friday.
The crash is the worst US rail tragedy in a decade and a half, killing 25 and injuring another 125. In a move originally intended to rebuild public trust, Tyrell got out in front of investigators: "A Metrolink spokeswoman said a day after the accident that the engineer was at fault because he failed to stop at a red light, but NTSB and railroad union officials said it was premature to draw such a conclusion." [See full story here]
So far, the National Transportation Safety Board has not recovered his phone and has requested copies of the phone records of both the engineers and his fans. But a CBS affiliate talked with the teenagers and looked at the messages sent and received just minutes before the crash.
Metrolink, the public agency that operates commuter train service on five regional lines (Ventura County, Antelope Valley, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange County) in Southern California, has suspended all use of text messaging after the deadly crash of Train 111 last Friday.
The crash is the worst US rail tragedy in a decade and a half, killing 25 and injuring another 125. In a move originally intended to rebuild public trust, Tyrell got out in front of investigators: "A Metrolink spokeswoman said a day after the accident that the engineer was at fault because he failed to stop at a red light, but NTSB and railroad union officials said it was premature to draw such a conclusion." [See full story here]
As the LA Times reported, Tyrell was later forced to resign over her comments, which were alternatively hailed for their candor by advocates of government transparency and deemed innappropriate for their timing and apparent intent to preempt official investigations.
The NTSB investigation is ongoing, as is seperate probe by the California Public Utilities Commission (which regulates train safety in the state) but, already, the engineer has been thrown under the train, followed by the spokesperson who threw him and a little technology called text messaging. You can already feel the chill.
Subscribe to this blog's feed
Leave a comment