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Calif. rail agency: Engineer's error caused wreck
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-14 19:28

Some were puzzled, even dubious, that Metrolink pointed the finger at the engineer so quickly.

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"It is a rush to judgment," said Ray Garcia, who until 2006 was a conductor on the same Metrolink 111 train.

Garcia, who now works for Amtrak, ticked off several scenarios in which initial evidence could turn out to be misleading, such as if a central computer showed that a signal was red when on the tracks it was not.

"Just because Metrolink says it was the fault of the engineer, it doesn't mean it's true," said Garcia, who knew the engineer through work. "It's just way too early in the game to point the finger."

Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metrolink board member Don Knabe also said it's premature to blame the engineer.

"There could always be a technical malfunction where ... there was a green light both ways," he said.

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