Federal investigators have cellphone text messages indicating that the engineer blamed for last fall's Metrolink rail disaster in Chatsworth sometimes allowed teenagers to ride with him in the cabs of locomotives while carrying passengers, The Times has learnedDid the conductors on those trains know there were kids riding along? Those guys are in big trouble too.
There is no evidence that any teenagers, described by sources as rail enthusiasts, rode the commuter rail with engineer Robert M. Sanchez on the day of the accident last Sept. 12.
But unauthorized ride-alongs are considered a serious violation of safety regulations and could create dangerous distractions. The disclosures are certain to intensify questions about the oversight of Metrolink crews, which has been a key focus of the inquiry in the wake of the collision that killed 25 people and injured 135 more.
For reasons that remain unclear, Sanchez ran through a red signal light and slammed into a Union Pacific freight train on a section of single, shared track.
The text messages apparently show that teenagers rode with him on more than one occasion, according to the sources who spoke on the condition that they not be named because they were not authorized to speak about the ongoing investigation.
The disclosure comes as the National Transportation Safety Board prepares to release details on text messaging and other factors in what ranks as the worst rail crash in modern California history during a two-day hearing that begins Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Safety investigators have said that Sanchez received and sent 57 text messages while on duty the day of the crash, including one 22 seconds before impact. Some of those messages reportedly involved young rail fans in the Chatsworth area.
There's just something a little creepy about a gay guy hanging out with teenage boys, whether in a train locomotive or elsewhere.
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