Metrolinks Derail in Glendale

[stubeeef]

First, I am against the Death Penalty.
Second, mentaly Ill or not, get the guy off the streets.
Third, if I remember correctly it costs more to sentence death than life.

My heart and prayers go out to all in this mess.

 

[mactastic]

Yeah premeditation seems kind of a stretch here. I wouldn't be sad to see 11 counts of voluntary manslaughter filed against the guy though.

 

[0s and 1s]

Saw the news this morning, and the reports are that he will be charges with 1st degree murder. I thought that 1st degree murder required premeditation. Just hope that the rush for vengeance does not compromise any trial that may happen.

Santa Monica is 15 min. away, Suicide Bridge in Pasadena is 10 min. away, heck, the LA Zoo is 5 min. away, yet he chose this option to end his life.

Did he think a parked SUV wouldn't affect or damage a train, perhaps injuring or killing its passengers? I live 5 min. away from Los Feliz and I drove by last night. It looked horrible. The death sentence is perfect for him. He'll have a great time on Death Row thinking about this for the rest of his pathetic life.

 

[wdlove]

If this man is truly mentally ill/depressed, probably no even aware of what he was doing or has done. Only a psychiatric evaluation can determine his touch with reality. In reality there is really no way to properly punish him for what he has done, meaning efficacy of that punishment.

 

[mactastic]

If he was trying to kill himself, wouldn't the worst punishment possible be to keep him alive in a cell?

 

[dejo]

If this man is truly mentally ill/depressed, probably no even aware of what he was doing or has done.

But he was aware enough to physically drive his SUV onto the tracks...

 

[mactastic]

Train's Lineup May Have Added to Risk

Linkypoo

The configuration of southbound Metrolink train 100, which had a locomotive pushing passenger cars from the rear rather pulling them from the front, may have contributed to the severity of Wednesday's deadly derailment, according to transportation safety experts.

Trains pushed along the tracks generally have lighter, less sturdy passenger cars in front, which experts say have a greater chance of sustaining damage during a collision and are more likely to derail. The configuration also puts more people closer to the point of impact, placing a carful of passengers rather than an engine with the train's crew at the front.

The train that slammed into a Jeep Cherokee outside the Glendale station Wednesday was being pushed by a 140-ton locomotive and was led by a modified passenger car, known as a cab car, that weighed 56 tons.

"There is no question you are safer when the engine is pulling the train," said Loren Joplin, who worked as an accident and safety official for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. in the 1970s. "For years, I have thought that using engines to push trains was going to end in a disaster. Had there been a locomotive on the front end, this would not have happened in Glendale."

 

[clayj]

Brilliant. So now we can expect to see a multi-hundred-million dollar lawsuit by the families of the victims against the folks (the government?) who run that particular rail line.

 

[0s and 1s]

Yup. Meanwhile, the killer pleads insanity and gets away with it.

I hope I'm wrong. We'll see....

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Brilliant. So now we can expect to see a multi-hundred-million dollar lawsuit by the families of the victims against the folks (the government?) who run that particular rail line.

Add to that the cost and delays by having to change engines or or having an engine in the front and rear. This method described is commonly used by commuter rail in the US. It allows for quick turn around of the trains and it said to be most fuel efficient.

 

[G4scott]

Why don't we just let this guy loose in a rail yard by himself, with nothing to derail a train... If he wants to kill himself, he's got plenty of opportunities to be hit by a train and not harm anyone else...

Maybe if the people of California are lucky, he'll find some way to end his own life before his trial... The money spent on this guy could be going to help tsunami victims, homeless people, or to fix Social Security...

 

[mactastic]

Maybe if the people of California are lucky, he'll find some way to end his own life before his trial... The money spent on this guy could be going to help tsunami victims, homeless people, or to fix Social Security...

Nah... the DA would rather execute him at great cost.