Jackson Bell
A three-train wreck that killed at least 10 and injured nearly 200
early Wednesday morning was the worst in Metrolink history, but it
wasn't the first tragedy in Glendale on a rail line with a recent
history of perilous crashes.
"Nothing of this magnitude has ever happened in Glendale, but we
have had a couple cars hit trains or individuals commit suicide [this
way]," Mayor Bob Yousefian said.
Thirty-seven trains have crashed in Glendale since 1976, not
including Wednesday's large-scale disaster between Chevy Chase Drive
and Los Feliz Boulevard, according to the Federal Railroad
Administration. The agency does not track suicide-related crashes.
The rate of wrecks caused by suicides does not appear to be higher
in Glendale than other areas the train company operates, but that
data is not collected for individual cities, Metrolink spokesman
Steve Lantz said.
"They do happen from time to time, and suicides in particular are
something that is very difficult to design around," Lantz said.
Metrolink officials are waiting for the National Transportation
Safety Board and Federal Railroad Administration investigators to
finish their investigation before making any changes to their
operations, Lantz said.
Following are some of the wrecks that have happened in recent
years:
* July 27, 2004: A 70-year-old man killed himself when he stepped
in front of an oncoming Union Pacific freight train at Doran Street.
No passengers were hurt.
* April 28, 2004: A middle-aged woman stepped under a railroad
crossing guardrail and was hit by a Metrolink train at Sonora Avenue.
The woman was killed, but no passengers were injured.
* Jan. 27, 2003: A Burbank motorist was killed by a Metrolink
train after he pulled his car onto the tracks at Grandview Avenue. A
suicide note was found at his home. No passengers were seriously
injured.
* Jan. 23, 2003: A 53-year-old woman was able to escape before an
Amtrak train smashed into her SUV at Doran Street. No one was hurt.
* Jan. 6, 2003: A Metrolink train slammed into a truck in Burbank
at the Buena Vista Street crossing. The motorist was killed, and more
than 30 passengers were injured.
* Jan. 28, 2000: A tractor-trailer truck, escorted by the
California Highway Patrol, was broadsided by a Metrolink train at
Grandview Avenue. The train engineer and four passengers were
injured.
* Dec. 7, 1999: A 31-year-old Glendale man stepped in front of a
Metrolink train at Broadway and San Fernando Road. The man was
severely injured but survived.
* November 1999: A 56-year-old North Hollywood man jumped in front
of a Metrolink train and killed himself at Doran Street.
* October 1998: A train hit a car at Doran Street. No one was
hurt.
* February 1997: An abandoned car was smashed by a train at Buena
Vista Street in Burbank.
* August 1996: A train struck a tractor-trailer truck near Bekins
Way.
* September 1995: A train hit a bus at Doran Street. No injuries
were reported.
* April 1995: A train hit a truck at Doran Street. No injuries
were reported.
