On September 12, 2008 a passenger train collided with a
cargo train in Los Angeles, CA. resulting in at least 25
dead and 100 seriously injured. The accident occurred at approximately 4:20
PM in the
afternoon as a commuter train operator failed to come to a stop thereby
entering an occupied track resulting in a head-on collision with a freight
train. Both trains derailed leaving a pile of wreckage and debris
scattered hundreds of feet around the track.
Rescue workers toiled endlessly in an attempt to rescue the train's 220
passengers. As the weekend came to a close 25 were dead including the commuter
train's operator and more than 130 of the passengers were injured. The death
toll may yet rise as many of the injured passengers are in critical condition.
The alleged cause of the accident was the failure on behalf of the commuter
train operator to come to a stop at the red light warning him of an oncoming
train. Additionally, it is believed that he may have been text messaging a
teenager at the time that he was supposed to be watching the track and its
various signals and lights. Investigators have indicated that there are other
issues that may have contributed to the accident and an official claim that the
operator's error was the primary cause of the accident has not yet been
determined.
Among the dead were:
Families of one male victim and one female victim have not been notified and
the coroner's office has not released their names.
Christopher
Aiken, 38, of Thousand Oaks
Dennis
Arnold, 75, of Camarillo
Dean Lafoy
Brower, 51, of Ventura
Alan Lloyd
Buckley, 59, of Simi Valley, a mechanic for the
city of Burbank
Yi Chao, 71,
of Simi Valley
Spree Desha,
35, of Simi Valley, Los Angeles Police
Department officer
Walter Arney
Fuller, 58, of Simi Valley
Ronald Grace,
55, of Simi Valley
Michael
Hammersly, 45, of Simi Valley
Jacob Hefter,
18, of Palmdale, a student at California State University, Long Beach
Kari Hsieh,
no age given
Ernest
Stephen Kish II, 47, of Thousand Oaks
Gregory
Lintner, 48, of Simi Valley
Paul Long,
54, of Moorpark, a teacher
Manuel
Macias, 31, of Santa Paula, a yoga instructor
Aida
Magdaleno, 19, of Camarillo
Charles Peck,
58, of Salt Lake City
Howard Barry
Pompel, 69, of Moorpark
Donna Remata,
49, of Simi Valley, a Metropolitan Transit
Authority
Doyle Jay
Souser, 56, of Camarillo, general manager at a
construction materials company
Roger Spacey,
60, of Simi Valley
Maria Elena
Villalobos, 18, of Moorpark, a student at the Fashion Institute of Design &
Merchandising
Atul Vyas,
20, of Simi Valley, a student at Claremont McKenna College
A note from
Texas Wrongful Death Attorney E. Michael Grossman:
It is sobering
to think that such a tragic accident can occur, allegedly,
from such a simple human error. In the thousands of cases my firm has handled
there is generally a familiar element of human error that plays into most
accidents and usually it manifests itself in the form of complacency. Human
beings are easily bored and once something becomes routine it is quite easy to
not focus on the task at hand particularly in regard to safety regulations. I
feel that is a fair statement to be made, and regardless of how accurate it may
be it most definitely does not function as an excuse. When so many people
entrust their safety to you and your skills you have an obligation to ensure
that complacency is not something that you are easily swayed by.
Furthermore, in
any scenario where such a seemingly simple and effortless example of human
error can cause such a catastrophic accident, further failsafe measures should
be taken to reduce the likelihood of such occurrences. The operator of this
train and the company that employs that operator failed to provide a reasonable
measure of safety which has resulted in many lives being permanently altered.
Posted by: Railroad accident attorney E. Michael Grossman | Posted on: 9/15/2008
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