Today the newspapers and TV are all abuzz regarding a verdict being reached in the worst Metrolink crash that we have ever had, here in Los Angeles. It happened in January of 2005 on the very track that I travel twice a day. Thankfully for me, it was several hours before I commute and I was not involved. 11 people died and 180 were injured in a three train wreck. As a matter of fact, the cars that were involved in the wreck, are still sitting in an empty lot in Burbank, right next to an overpass that is actually the subject of this post...but I get ahead of my story.
I have wanted to tell the story of my worst Metrolink crash. More then one crash, you may be thinking, yes, I have been in many crashes, but probably a few more then 5 , but less than 10. Thankfully, it's usually not a big deal, because it takes a lot to derail a train. We usually push whatever the offending tresspasser is, off to the side and then have to sit in the train for an hour or two, according to if there is a fatality involved. Major inconvenience, but not usually major danger. Well...there was the one time that a truck backed into the train as we passed and he popped the window onto the passenger table right across from me. That was scary, but in a different way. Thankfully for me, I KNEW that something was about to happen and ducked my head and put my hands over my head. When the glass rained on me, it was just an annoyance, not tragic. Others had a bit more problems then I did and we still know who each other were, in that car that day. PTSD, anyone...
My accident was only witnessed by two people, me...and the engineer driving the train. It happened shortly after I began commuting daily in 1994. Remember, I started commuting daily right after the Northridge Earthquake. So I was 6 months into a daily commute. Back in those days, we only went back and forth to Santa Clarita during the day. The Lancaster trains were rush hour only. So two trains would meet between Burbank and Glendale, where the line is double tracked and make what we call a "Train Meet". I was in the lead cab car in the back seat, furthest away from the engineer driving the train. He was a substitute that day, our regular guy was on a week's vacation. The conductor was in the seat behind the cab itself, across and forward from me. I get off at Glendale and so I decided that I would pack up, watch the train meet and then head for the door, to get ready to exit the train at the next station. So I get up and along comes the northbound train, he passes us by and immediately 3 people who decided to take a short cut directly over the track, rather, then climb the flyover bridge that safely gets cars and pedestrians over the track, begin crossing. They never heard us, due to the northbound train passing and making so much noise. They never even thought to look the other way and see if there was a southbound train. So they begin to cross, a little girl about 5, her mother, holding her hand and an old man, her father and the little girl's grandfather. He was also holding the woman's hand. To me they looked like the cover of Abby Road. I immediately said something like "Oh Fuck!" and ducked behind the table where the conductor was. He was going to look at that point, but decided he really didn't want to see it happen. Maybe 2 or 3 seconds later, we hit. It took us almost a mile to finally stop the train and by then I was a wreck. I sat in a seat in the lower level and the Conductor (a very good friend of mine) comes over to me and asks me if I was OK. Yeah, I guess I was, just very, very upset. He then had to exit the train...and find the bodies. I felt so bad for him. Shortly after this happened, an Amtrak train passed and they had it come over on the other track and they off loaded us, to get us away from it all. I did not know the fate of the three people, until I heard the noon news that day. I was praying that the little girl, who was in the lead, made it OK, but she didn't. The engineer, who was the last one to see them, was most upset for the grandfather. Funny how our perspectives were different.
Shortly thereafter, they put up a huge fence to keep people from ever doing that again, but I have never forgotten it. Once in a while, I glance out the window...and remember.
Regarding PTSD.
Each of us have our own fears and ways to cope. The conductor that day, was also involved in a very bad crash on the same line, just up the track at a Burbank crossing at Buena Vista. That cab car was derailed by a truck, hit a wall and over turned. Many a time I see him move out of the cab car, during the section of track that is the most dangerous and go count people or something. Now he could do that anytime, but I think he chooses to be out of the cab right then. Which is fine by me.
For the most part, I still ride the cab. Why, you may ask? Because people are the most in fear about riding in that location and so the other cars are more filled, then it is. For the most part, I am just fine with it. But one day I was woken up from a sound sleep, by a voice in my head saying to get out of that car. I immediately left and went into the second car, wondering what the heck that was all about. We didn't hit anything that day, but I always wonder if we would have, if I had stayed. Who knows...
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Photo
As if it isn't obvious,
That's the flyover bridge
where the accident occurred.
I can't get into the cab
area of the train anymore,
due to the many accidents
that have happened over
the years, so this was
taken from the passenger
seat, as we passed.
Wow. I occasionally (though not often) hear of accidents involving trains, usually as you say the kind where the train strikes something or someone without derailing, but never realized that they were that common. I guess if you ride the rails 2x daily you're bound to have incidents eventually, but I never would have thought there'd be so many regardless of the however many years spent riding the rails. I suppose a lot of it is due to dense California population, eh?
ReplyDeleteI've never understood how people can be anywhere near railroad tracks and NOT be alert for a train, not hear it or see it even if they're not being vigilant. I know it happens, but I just can't conceive of it really. It's a shame that others have to live with the memory, even if there IS the consolation of it not being the fault of anyone who witnessed it.
I'm glad they put up the fence, but (and I'm sorry to sound callous) people really should know better or at least know to look both ways when crossing tracks. It seems like folks too often think of trains as if they're just like cars, able to slam on the brakes and stop quickly. Uh-uh. As you say, it can take a mile (or more) to completely stop, depending on speed and overall tonnage.
You touch on something I did not say in my original post and that is that I held quite a bit of anger toward the woman who was in the middle of the three of them, the mother. The holding hands thing gave away the fact that she was in charge, trying to keep everyone safe (she obviously KNEW she was doing wrong crossing that track that day) and yet she did it anyway. So I end up being the one to witness her and her families deaths. Yeah, definitely there was anger there for many years, but I am in a better place now and even think of someday visiting them in the cemetery and getting closure on that.
ReplyDeleteIn regard to rail safety, over the 16 years they have been in operation, the trains have constantly improved the crossings and put up lots of fencing, so it is really rare that you get the accidental type of deaths, anymore. Most that happen now days are VERY deliberate...like the one 3 years ago. He KNEW what he was doing and he WANTED to make it big. Little did he know it was going to become so much bigger then he could even imagine. Three trains involved is unprecedented! It was just pure luck that a siding was being utilized, at that point in time and thus, three different trains.
cool story, ange.
ReplyDeleteI got one of those but it's a subway story. A man falling or letting himself fall in front of the car about ten feet away from me. All saw was his body falling slolwly and disappearing under the first car. The conductor jumped up and you heard a loud crack and that was it. But those sort of events definitely stay with you.
So true, you never really forget.
ReplyDelete