Sep 14, 2008 11:42 am US/Pacific
Engineer Apparently Sent Text Message Before Crash
Federal Investigators Say They Will Seek Cell Phone Records Of Teens & Train Engineer
CHATSWORTH, Calif. (CBS) ―
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The text message sent by the engineer to one of a group of teen train enthusiasts.
CBS
Metrolink officials Saturday put the blame squarely on the engineer of the train for the deadly crash that has claimed at least 25 lives. They say he ran a red light.
But a group of local teenage train enthusiasts who knew the engineer well, doubt that he was to blame.
They called their friend professional and caring and said he helped them learn about trains and being an engineer. They said he would "never" have been reckless or unprofessional or run a red light.
But one minute before the deadliest crash in Metrolink history, one teen said he received a text message on his cell phone from the engineer, whom the teens identified as Robert Sanchez.
The text was brief, "Just two lines", reported KCAL 9 and CBS 2 reporter Kristine Lazar, exclusively.
The text apparently told the teen and his friends where Sanchez would be meeting another passenger train.
Federal investigators say they will seek the cell phone records of two teenagers and a train engineer as they probe whether text messages factored into a fiery commuter train crash.
Kitty Higgins, a board member for the National Transportation Safety Board, says her agency is also talking with the two teens and their families.
The teens said that they received a text message from the engineer at 4:22 p.m. Friday, just moments before the deadly crash.
Higgins says that the engineer's cell phone was not recovered at the crash site Sunday.
She declined to say what the teens and their families have told investigators thus far.
The teens posted a tribute to their friend on YouTube.
A Metrolink spokeswoman earlier stated that the train's engineer, who has not officially been named, ran a red signal.
Another one of the teens told Lazar that Sanchez " was not the kind of guy who would run a red light."
None of them believe he was at fault.
Saturday, Sanchez's teen friends all went to the crash site.
Denise Tyrell, a spokesperson for Metrolink commented on the report that Sanchez might have been texting immediately before the crash.
She said, "I can't believe someone could be texting while driving a train."
Metrolink dispatchers reportedly heard an alarm that notified them Train 111 had gone past a red signal in Chatsworth.
They then tried to radio and warn Sanchez, but apparently, the crash had already occurred. The radio call was eventually answered by an injured Metrolink conductor.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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