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Engineer testifies in deadly LA-area train derailment case
By: Associated Press | ∞
LOS ANGELES -- An engineer recalled in court Tuesday how passengers panicked as a commuter train slammed into a sport utility vehicle allegedly placed on the tracks by a suicidal man.
The testimony of rail operator Bruce Gray came during a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to try Juan Manuel Alvarez, 26, of Compton on murder and arson charges.
The hearing was set to continue Wednesday.
Gray said the train was traveling at 79 mph in suburban Glendale when he first saw a vehicle reflector light ahead. The train slowed to 69 mph after he pulled the emergency brake.
He remembered trying to warn passengers before the derailment that killed 11 people and injured another 200.
"It was like an explosion," said Gray, who suffered broken bones in his back. "I saw people flying and parts of the train coming apart, and my back was slammed against the seat."
Alvarez allegedly caused the crash on Jan. 26 by parking his SUV on the tracks in an aborted suicide attempt. He pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of murder and one count of arson causing great bodily injury.
Authorities have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty.
The suspect was being held in a cell that accommodates just one prisoner at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles, said Steve Whitmore, a sheriff's spokesman. No extra security measures have been taken on his behalf.
"He's being treated no differently than anyone else," Whitmore said.
During the hearing, defense attorney Arthur Greenspan asked about emergency training for engineers, the train's braking system and the "push-pull" configurations used by Metrolink in which locomotives sometimes push rather than pull train cars.
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