Sep 15, 2008 7:13 pm US/Pacific
Family Of 19-Year-Old Crash Victim Sues Metrolink
LOS ANGELES
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Magdaleno is one of 25 people who died as a result of the crash of the Metrolink train and a freight train at 4:23 p.m. Friday.
CBS
The family of a 19-year-old woman who died in Friday's Metrolink crash near Chatsworth filed a claim against the agency Monday, alleging Metrolink failed to employ available safety mechanisms to protect commuters.
The parents and siblings of Aida Magdaleno, a student at Cal State Northridge, said last week's crash could have been avoided had Metrolink installed a collision avoidance system called positive train control.
"I don't want another Aida to go through the same thing," said her brother, uan Magdaleno, 33.
"There's risk for everything, and one of those risks when you get on a train is there's a chance the train might hit a car. But to hit another train?"
A spokesman for Metrolink declined to comment on the claim.
Magdaleno is one of 25 people who died as a result of the crash of the Metrolink train and a freight train at 4:23 p.m. Friday. An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, although Metrolink officials initially indicated that the train's engineer had apparently run a red light and did not stop to let the freight train pass.
However, the National Transportation Safety Board and a union representing railroad employees said it was too soon to jump to any conclusions about the cause of the crash.
Attorney Paul Kiesel said the family filed the claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit, to get Metrolink to install technology that could prevent similar crashes in the future.
"The easy part is two trains shouldn't come together on a track to take the lives of people in 2008. The more complicated piece is they have the technology to prevent this from ever happening again. Now is the time to put it in place," Kiesel said.
The president of the California Public Utilities Commission said he will ask the Federal Railroad Administration to require automatic train stop systems on all freight and passenger trains that share tracks in the state.
"I will also urge the FRA to approve the implementation of positive train control, a more complex form of automated train control. These safety measures are especially important in Southern California, which has a very high number of commuter trains that share tracks with freight trains," said Michael R. Peevey.
Through an interpreter, Aida Magdalenos' father, Juvenal, said his daughter was stolen from the family in the prime of her life.
Magdaleno's brother, Miguel, said she usually sat in the last car of the train, but authorities believe she was a passenger in the first train car on Friday.
The family waited for 12 hours after the crash to hear news about the youngest of the five Magdaleno children.
"We were expecting the worst, and that's what they gave us," said Miguel Magdaleno.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
SLIDESHOW: Metrolink Crash
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