Metrolink Spokesman Resigns

On Saturday, less than 24 hours after the Metrolink train accident in Chatsworth, the official Metrolink spokesman Denise Tyrrell made a statement claiming that the accident was caused by their engineer ignoring a red signal. That may well have been true, but I was shocked that Metrolink would so publicly admit guilt long before the investigation was complete. At the time I posted this:

That's a gutsy move on the part of Metrolink to admit liability so early in the process. I'm sure their lawyers are pulling their hair out over that statement (not to mention the lawyers for Veolia).

This morning the TV news is reporting that Tyrrell has resigned:

LOS ANGELES -- The woman who delivered a surprisingly swift announcement following the deadly train collision in Chatsworth, placing blame on the engineer driving a Metrolink commuter train, has resigned.

Metrolink Spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell said she has quit over comments made by the Metrolink board.

She claims that Metrolink's Chief Executive told her she could release the basic facts of the investigation after Friday's crash, including an initial statement suggesting the Metrolink engineer may have been at fault in the deadly crash after ignoring a red warning signal.

Tyrrell says she decided to resign after a statement read by board member Ron Roberts to a Los Angeles Times blogger Sunday that her announcement was "premature".

Tyrrell says she believes that the public should know the facts as early as possible.

She informed the media of her decision to resign via email early this morning, three days after the deadly crash that killed 25 people.

Here's the statement from the Board member that she objected to:

Ron Roberts, the chairman of the board of directors for Metrolink, just read me this statement that he attributed to the Metrolink board:

"Metrolink staff has recently made comments regarding the possible cause of the September 12th, 2008, tragedy in Chatsworth. The National Transportation Safety Board has characterized these comments as premature and has ordered Metrolink to withhold further comments at this time pending investigation and we agree."

On Saturday, Metrolink spokesperson Denise Tyrrell told reporters that the engineer of the Metrolink train caused the crash by not obeying a track signal telling him to stop.

In an unusual move, the statement from the Metrolink board did not come through the agency's communications department, nor was a press release issued. Before speaking with Roberts, I called Francisco Oaxaca, a spokesman for Metrolink, and asked him about the expected statement. "It's something that the board chair is doing under his authority," he said, adding that Metrolink staff supports Roberts.

At the very least, all this suggests that there may be some strife within the agency over what the data shows and how or if it should be released to the public.

On other thing occurred to me this morning. On Saturday it was reported by a group of teens that they were text messaging the engineer moments before the accident. The investigators are now pulling cellphone records for the individuals involved, and while it may contribute to the cause of the accident, I wonder if the families of those kids realize what they've just done. They've just made themselves parties to the hundreds of lawsuits that are sure to follow as some lawyers will undoubtedly dump them in with Metrolink, Union Pacific, and everyone else they think they can get a settlement out of. Those kids' families better lawyer up and fast.