Glendale Train Wreck

[RainyDay]

This is so horrible I just can't believe it. It touches close to home for me. We've been discussing it at work all morning. Just horrible. In today's LA Times:

Man Charged With Murder in Metrolink Collision

One of the trains hits a car police say was deliberately parked on the tracks and then hits a second train.

By Michael Muskal and Jesus Sanchez, Times Staff Writers

At least 10 people died and nearly 200 were injured this morning when two commuter trains collided after one hit a car parked on the tracks by a man intent on killing himself, officials said

Police said they had taken a man into custody and he was expected to be charged with homicide in connection with the chain reaction of crashes that left train cars mangled and seared in Glendale near the Los Angeles border. Debris including seat cushions, bloody towels and luggage discarded by fleeing passengers littered the area.

A southbound commuter train heading to downtown Los Angeles hit the Jeep Grand Cherokee parked on the tracks, said Glendale Police Chief Randy G. Adams. The train then apparently crashed into a northbound Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train was hit and derailed, officials said. The investigation was continuing.

"This is now a homicide investigation," Adams said, adding that police had taken a man into custody. Adams identified the suspect as Juan Manuel Alvarez of Compton. He said Alvarez had attempted suicide before.

Alvarez was detained at the scene and appeared to be uninjured. He told police he had left the vehicle and watched the derailment, Adams said. He was also identified by witnesses at the scene.

Alvarez was booked on 10 counts of murder, Adams said. The suspect was distraught and remorseful and was being held on a suicide watch. He had superficial self-inflicted wounds that were treated, the chief said.

Alvarez, who will celebrate his 26th birthday on Feb. 26, had prior drug arrests, Adams said.

"This whole incident was started by a deranged individual that was suicidal," the chief told reporters.

"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."

Glendale Mayor Bob Yousefian said that Juan Alvarez "kind of ran, tried to hide, but because of his previous injuries, he got apprehended."

When asked why Alvarez was in Glendale, the mayor responded, "He came to Glendale to commit suicide."

Officials described the incident as the worst local rail disaster in recent memory.

A National Transportation Safety Board team was headed to the scene. The Glendale Police Department was leading the criminal investigation, with LAPD and the Sheriff's Department assisting.

The 6 a.m. crash set off minor fires and diesel fuel spills as rescuers rushed to the scene at San Fernando Road and Chevy Chase Drive. The area is near where Burbank, Glendale and Atwater Village in Los Angeles meet.

"This is unbelievably tragic," an angry Sheriff Lee Baca told reporters at the scene. "It is a complete outrage as far as transportation safety is concerned."

At a joint news conference with Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton and Glendale's Adams, Baca said he was especially angry because one of the dead was identified as Deputy James Tutino, a 23-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department. He was aboard the southbound train, heading to work from Simi Valley.

Three LAPD employees were hospitalized and one was unaccounted for, Bratton said.

The death toll steadily climbed as the sun rose. By 10:30 a.m. the count hit 10. Fire officials said 123 people were treated and transported to 13 area hospitals. About 60 people were treated at the scene and released. Most of the injured were treated in the light rain at a triage center established in a nearby Costco parking lot.

A Glendale Memorial Hospital spokeswoman said that at least five patients were considered critical.

Television stations showed hundreds of tons of wreckage from the commuter trains and officials reported traffic delays throughout the area. The commute on the Ventura and Antelope Valley lines was disrupted indefinitely as officials used buses to transport commuters between Union Station and the Burbank station.

More than 300 firefighters combed through the derailed trains looking for trapped passengers. As firefights cleared each car, they garishly marked the side giving the cars an eerie look as they formed a twisted zig-zag pattern next to the tracks.

Bamattre said at least five passes had been completed through the scene. By 9 a.m. the focus has shifted from rescue to recovery, officials said.

"It's been a nightmare," passenger Leanne Lopez told a reporter.

One Metrolink train, the 901, left Union Station in downtown Los Angeles and the other, train 100, was heading into Los Angeles. Officials said the trains usually carried 200 to 250 passengers. The top speed is 79 mph, though the trains were believed to be traveling at less than the maximum.

David Morrison, 47, an attorney, was heading to downtown Los Angeles on his regular morning commute. He said he that he got on train 100 at 5:19 a.m. at Simi Valley.

"I heard the crash. It sounded like the train was dragging something across the tracks," he told The Times. "There was a violent lurch and everything came to a stop."

He said the passengers fled amid the smell of diesel fumes.

Goddard Paialii, 53, of Woodland Hills, a communications electrician for the city of Los Angeles, said he boarded the train in Chatsworth and rode in the lead car. He was upstairs and said he was trying to nap, listening to his I-Pod.

After the crash, the train "appeared to be dragging whatever it hit. At that point, I just braced myself. Computers, seat pads, briefcases were flying all over. There was lots of smoke in the car."

But the exodus remained orderly.

"Everybody was trying to help everybody else get out," Paialii said. "The train I was in was entirely ripped out. We went out through a gaping hole," Paialii said.

He stepped over a woman who complained of back and neck injuries and said she did not want to move. He carried one injured man to a fence nearby.

Cathie Fransen, 57 was riding with her friend Ken Milds, 55, in the middle car. Fransen said she has ridden the train regularly for 12 1/2 years and was in the aisle seat, second floor, middle car. She does community relations for IBM in Glendale.

"It was very terrifying. We had seconds to think about what was going on," she said.

After the derailment, as the cars skidded, she said it felt like "it kept going and going. We were holding our breath."

The entire wreck of all three trains was contained between a gray warehouse and the brick wall of Costco. A single train car was propped at an almost perfect 45-degree angle from the tracks, a signal bridge crumpled over it, its upper corner resting lightly on the tracks. The car in front of it, still attached, was tilted at about an 80-degree angle, its wheels still just barely resting on the track.

And to the south a third car lay fully on its side, back right corner a mess of debris. An engine and a Metrolink car to the south remained on the tracks upright and relatively untouched, but behind these another attached car stood upright but almost at right angles across the track.

All along the ground, large metal pieces of the side of the train and gray upholstered seats were scattered like discarded food wrappers. On the train cars, windows gaped or were shattered in their frames.

Each of the cars by midmorning were scribbled with neon orange spray paint from the firefighters, who had numbered them. On the warehouse behind the train people gathered to look down on the wreckage.

The accident occurred just north of the Costco store in a shopping center on Los Feliz Boulevard, where it was drizzling and dark, witnesses said.

"We heard a loud boom and the building shook," said Jenny Doll, 30, a Costco clerk from Monterey Park.

Employees took fire extinguishers from the store shelves and ran outside to help.

"Everybody was helping and trying to get people out of the train," said Doll, who was taking food and water from the store for firefighters at the site.

Ruben Cabrera, the 37-year-old store manager, said he first thought the noise of the crash was thunder, but soon his receiving dock called and told him there had been an accident.

"It was chaos. I was trying to keep a level head, and I didn't want to lose any employees," he said.

Inside the store, passengers were processed by officials trying to account for everyone on board. Once done, the commuters filed out and sat on white picnic benches in front of a snack stand.

An hour after the crash, crews worked on the wreckage as about 50 passengers waited nearby.

They sat in work clothes with tags around their neck: Name, Age, Condition.

One firefighter walked among the walking wounded shouting: "Who needs to go to the hospital? Who needs to go to the hospital?"

A few people raised their hands.

Then firefighters went person to person asking if anything else was needed and how they were feeling.

Staff writers Peter Hong, Jill Leovy, David Pierson and Erica Williams contributed to this report.

[crawjo]

Wow, that's really awful. Killing yourself by standing in front of a train is a bad idea, even if you are the only one who gets killed. At the very least, your actions are going to scar the conductor of that train for a long time.

[Noj]

This is a block from where my Dad works, very sad.

A police officer, a veteran of 23 years and father of 4, was among those killed. They're going to fry this guy, deranged or suicidal or whatever.

[jazzy mary]

Incredible! How horrible.

[clinthopson]

Our whole area is upset with the idiot and the tragedy he caused.

[Dr Dave]

I don't have the words...I guess if he's a drug addict there's no point in wondering how anybody could be so monumentally irresponsible...what the hell did he THINK was going to happen?!

[crawjo]

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

I don't have the words...I guess if he's a drug addict there's no point in wondering how anybody could be so monumentally irresponsible...what the hell did he THINK was going to happen?!

Well, if he was in a suicidal state, I'd guess that he probably wasn't really thinking at all. He probably felt pretty numb, decided that nothing mattered, so he might as well watch a train wreck.

[Ron Thorne]

Our son works in Glendale, so this hit pretty close to home for us, too. I'm sure he saw and/or smelled some of the carnage on his way to work later this morning, once he could actually drive again.

Terrible, senseless tragedy.

[Monte Smith]

Unfortunate.

[Dr Dave]

Originally Posted by crawjo

Well, if he was in a suicidal state, I'd guess that he probably wasn't really thinking at all. He probably felt pretty numb, decided that nothing mattered, so he might as well watch a train wreck.

If that's really what went through his head, then a murder indictment should be forthcoming.

[graypencil]

>>Alvarez was detained at the scene and appeared to be uninjured. He told police he had left the vehicle and watched the derailment, Adams said. He was also identified by witnesses at the scene.<<


It's horrible enough to set out to commit suicide by train ..but then to "chicken out" at the last moment and kill and maim untold numbers of people in just unbelievable ..

this guy outta get the max.. with extreme prejudice.

[Deke]

Originally Posted by Noj

They're going to fry this guy, deranged or suicidal or whatever.

Isn't that what he wanted in the first place?

A very similar incident happened over here before Christmas but only one train was involved and the guy succeeded in his suicide attempt, so we can't even extract vengeance upon him. Did it get reported over your side? Could this be a copycat? Horrible thought if it was, because it would mean that our guy has gotten away with causing the deaths of at least 10 more inocent people.

I can't think of anything worse than to make the decision to kill yourself, and to take as many people as you can with you. It's like being a suicide bomber without even the excuse of a motive.

[Noj]

Originally Posted by Deke

Isn't that what he wanted in the first place?

A very similar incident happened over here before Christmas but only one train was involved and the guy succeeded in his suicide attempt, so we can't even extract vengeance upon him. Did it get reported over your side? Could this be a copycat? Horrible thought if it was, because it would mean that our guy has gotten away with causing the deaths of at least 10 more inocent people.

I can't think of anything worse than to make the decision to kill yourself, and to take as many people as you can with you. It's like being a suicide bomber without even the excuse of a motive.

One inconsiderate, idiotic decision has brought sudden, pointless suffering to at least 20 families, who will never see their loved ones again...I'd have to agree with you. For every single person killed there is this growing ripple effect, affecting the lives of so many.

When I consider that same ripple effect with war in mind, I'd estimate the damage inflicted by 100,000 casualties would affect millions. Killing is not the right path.

[Ron Thorne]

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

Unfortunate.

Thanks for the empathy, Nabob.

[tippy]

A terrible tragedy for all involved. I doubt the guy intended to hurt and kill all those people though. He probably thought it was a surefire way to his demise. On the other hand, he sure chose a busy intersection which maxed the possibility of derailment and extra consequences. He should have chosen a lonely freighter.

[Monte Smith]

Originally Posted by Ron Thorne

Thanks for the empathy, Nabob.

You're welcome, Bo.

[clinthopson]

He should have stayed in the car.

[RainyDay]

The man was a drug addict who had threatened his estranged wife and family. So much for the idea that drug use/abuse is a victmless crime.

[Canuck Don]

People are going to have mixed reactions about this man I think. most will want him executed and some will say that he was not accountable for his actions because of his drug problem or high state of emotional distress.When I was an ambulance attendent all those years I was at many, many similar scenes where some person wanted to kill themselfs for whatever reasons and ran head on into another car killing the person and the people in the car that was hit. or cement vieduct and killing themselfs only..Killing onself is bad enough but to take others with you .I don't know how to take this because I have mixed views on it.
When a person is in such a highly state of emotional distress ,they at the time don't think about what would happen to other people if they run into another car or what happened like this case.They are so distraught that all they think about is themselfs at the time and ending their lifes.Like someone standing on a bridge to jump or high building. Why don't a lot jump and just stand there for hrs. They want to and they don't want to.Now this guy wanted to and at the last few seconds changed his mind.Why didn't he start the vechicle up and drive away.Who knows. Once the train got very close to him, the shock of seeing this could have shaken him back to reality and his first reaction was to jump out of there fast.Now I'm not taking this guys side at all. First I detest anyone who is on durgs but I also feel for people who have mental and emotionl problems that take over their lifes. They say that if a person even once in there lifes thinks about suicide but does not do it, it's a sign of mental problems that should be looked into and not let go.
I feel for the people that were killed in this.
oooooh shit. I just got a phone call from my Ma. My beloved Aunt just died. Oh damn.
Got to go. Thanks for taking the time to read this if anyone did.so.

[tippy]

Don, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your aunt. My sympathy to you and your family.

[Ennis Snavely]

Originally Posted by RainyDay

The man was a drug addict who had threatened his estranged wife and family. So much for the idea that drug use/abuse is a victmless crime.

It may not be victimless but drug abuse should not be a crime. Causing the death of 20 people should be. What I don't understand is that if the guy changed his mind, why didn't he drive off? I guess when your talking about insane and stupid people then rationality really doesn't come into play.

[RainyDay]

Originally Posted by Ennis Snavely

It may not be victimless but drug abuse should not be a crime. Causing the death of 20 people should be. What I don't understand is that if the guy changed his mind, why didn't he drive off? I guess when your talking about insane and stupid people then rationality really doesn't come into play.

Because the dumb fuck drove down the tracks and got stuck, which is probably why the train derailed. Typically, trains don't derail from hitting a car that's sitting across the tracks, even a big vehicle like an SUV.

I have plenty of sympathy for mentally ill folks. But the question is whether he was mentally ill and the drugs made it worse or if he became deranged from prolonged drug abuse. I understand that some folks have chemical imbalances that make them irrational. Taking drugs doesn't help. On the other hand, over time, drug abuse can make a sane person crazy. I'm not some anti drug crusader but I'm tired of hearing how drug use/abuse is a victimless crime. This guy's family paid for it before the accident and now, so have a bunch of families who have nothing to do with this fool.

[claude]

I've not been watching this story particularly closely so I may be misinformed. I saw in a news story that this guy purportedly was doing this as a way to shock his ex-wife into coming back to him and that he wanted to watch the train wreck. If that is true then the crime takes on a whole new dimension.

[RainyDay]

Originally Posted by claude

I've not been watching this story particularly closely so I may be misinformed. I saw in a news story that this guy purportedly was doing this as a way to shock his ex-wife into coming back to him and that he wanted to watch the train wreck. If that is true then the crime takes on a whole new dimension.

I haven't read that. What was in the LA Times is that he was trying to commit suicide (had made previous attempts) then changed his mind when the car got stuck. There were self-inflicted injuries on him that were made either just before or after the accident. He is apparently very remorseful and on suicide watch. He has a long, long history of drug abuse. Recently, he had been behaving quite irrationally and he was put under a restraining order to keep him away from his family. He had allegedly threatened to steal or in some way harm his children. He couldn't hold a job. This guy had major demons and I have some sympathy for his human suffering but his actions are reprehensible. If he had a history of mental illness, maybe I would feel differently. Perhaps he is mentally ill and was never diagnosed. He may now be facing the death penalty. The thing is, all these people were just going along in their routine and bam. Every day you have is a blessing because it could end over some complete bullshit in an instant.

[groover]

Somehow the death penalty doesn't seem like a suitable punishment to me for someone who's suicidal.

[crawjo]

I don't know...with the history of mental illness this guy has it might be hard to get a murder conviction, or at least one that could be enforced with the death penalty. Just conjecturing, of course, but it doesn't sound to me like there was premeditation involved. There may not even have been intent to kill anyone. This is not the same thing as a person going crazy and deciding to shoot up a shopping mall. There, even if the person is irrational and mentally ill, the intent to kill or harm others is clearly there. But in the case of putting your car on the tracks, you might think that the wreck is just going to destroy your car and not hurt anyone else. Given the facts that I have read, I can definitely see how this might not have been planned. Maybe manslaughter? If the conductor of the train had been high on drugs, and that caused a crash that killed ten people, he wouldn't be given the death penalty. I'm not sure that I see how this case is any different.

[Uli]

Originally Posted by crawjo

I don't know...with the history of mental illness this guy has it might be hard to get a murder conviction, or at least one that could be enforced with the death penalty.

In Texas it would not be much of a problem.

I agree with Monte, unfortunate and tragic.

The man was obviously derranged. If from drug use or not is ultimately immaterial to this case. It's up medical judgement wether his derrangement was such that he could not have forseen the consequences of his act or that he could even act in a rational way.

[RainyDay]

I don't support the death penalty under any circumstances. I'm just less inclined to have sympathy for him than for the people whose lives were either ended or upended.

[clinthopson]

I agree with you rainy, killing another person doesn't accomplish anything.

But this idiot should be put away, preferably in Folsom, for a long, long time.

[RainyDay]

The article below is from the local ABC tv channel website-KGO-and the website shown below is more than you will ever want to know about this.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...home-headlines

Jan. 27 (AP) — 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.

In addition to the 11 dead, a woman remained missing and nearly 200 people were injured.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said prosecutors filed charges late Wednesday for 10 counts of murder with "special circumstances" of committing murder through a train derailment. Under state law, the allegation makes Alvarez 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.

Prosecutors were evaluating Alvarez's mental state in regard to the special circumstance allegations, but Cooley said it was no defense to the charges.

"His despondency doesn't move me," the district attorney told The Associated Press. "The mere fact that he was a little upset or despondent doesn't mean he has a defense for anything. It may actually work to support our case."

Alvarez's state of mind, while not providing a motive, could show his intent to commit a crime, Cooley said. He noted that a not guilty by reason of insanity defense has a very high standard.

Arraignment was planned for Thursday afternoon but could be delayed depending on Alvarez's medical condition.

Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams said the case was put together so quickly because every one of the department's more than 20 detectives worked on it, temporarily suspending all other investigations.

"The facts so far are really irrefutable," Adams said, while adding that investigators were still trying to reconstruct the exact sequence of events in the crash.

Alvarez got out of his green Jeep Cherokee before the two commuter trains crashed in this Los Angeles suburb. He stood by as the gruesome chain-reaction wreck scattered wreckage and bodies over a quarter-mile of track.

The SUV was stuck between tracks away from a crossing and once there, he could not have moved it even if he had tried, Metrolink CEO David Solow said. The southbound train that struck it slid off the tracks, hit a parked Union Pacific railcar, then clipped the northbound train.

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. The rails were expected to reopen Monday, Metrolink officials said.

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 Compton home months ago, her family said. In December, she obtained a temporary restraining order keeping him away from her, their 3-year-old son 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. "He threatened to take our kid away and to hurt my family members."

Carmelita Alvarez, who went into seclusion shortly after the crash, also told the court her husband's drug use was triggering hallucinations.

The wounded Alvarez was under suicide watch but was listed in stable condition, and Sheriff Lee Baca said Thursday on CBS' "The Early Show" that Alvarez "was rather astounded himself as to what the outcome was."

The force of the 6 a.m. collision hurled passengers down the trains' aisles.

"I heard a noise. It got louder and louder," said 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, who helped remove some of the injured in shopping carts. Uninjured passengers also joined the rescue effort.

Costco employee Hugo Moran said an elderly man, covered in blood and soot and with apparently 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.