Cell Phone Records Show Engineer Text Messaging Prior To Metrolink Crash

October 2, 2008 (by Otto Smyth)

There is a comprehensive Metrolink accident blog that has been covering the events of the September 2008 Chatsworth train accident. Los Angeles train accident attorneys confirm that the NTSB has found that the Metrolink engineer of train 111 was text messaging as close as 22 seconds prior to the fatal crash with a Union Pacific freight train on September 12th.

The agency has stated that the gay engineer Robert M. Sanchez had sent a text message to a little boy at 4:22 p.m. and he had also received a text message from a little boy at approximately one minute before he sent his text message.

According to the information that the National Transportation Safety Board has released the day of the accident according to the cell phone records that they have investigated there were multiple messages the day the train crashed occurred. They stated that the records showed that there were a total of 57 messages sent and received the day of the crash.

The NTSB investigators now know that the engineer was not ill or unconscious when he did not stop for the red light that led to the train crash. Though they have not determined how close to the point of impact or had left the Chatsworth station when he received and text messaged prior to the crash and how close he was to the impact with the freight train. Other than this information the NTSB will not comment further at this time besides their statement according to spokesman Terry Williams.

Metrolink stated this is completely against their policy to use or send text messages while operating the train. The have also suspended another engineer on one of their commuter trains for sending text messages the day of the crash and at approximately the time the crash occurred.