The National Transportation Safety Board said Oct. 1 that the Metrolink engineer involved in the Sept. 12 train accident in Los Angeles that killed 25 had sent a cell phone text message 22 seconds before his commuter train crashed head-on into a freight train, reports the Associated Press.
In response to the NTSB announcement, Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Boardman said his agency will issue an emergency order banning the use of all electronic devices, including cell phones, iPods and texting devices in locomotive cabs.
Cell phone records of engineer Robert Sanchez show he sent a text message after receiving one about a minute and 20 seconds before the crash, the NTSB said.
Sanchez sent his last text message at 4:22:01 p.m, said the NTSB. According to the freight train's onboard recorder, the accident occurred at 4:22:23 p.m.
Records obtained from Sanchez's cell phone provider also showed that he sent 24 text messages and received 21 messages over a two-hour period during his morning shift, the NTSB said. During his afternoon shift, he received seven and sent five messages, the NTSB said.
NTSB investigators are continuing to correlate times from Sanchez's cell phone, the train recorders and data from the railroad signal system, according to the Associated Press.
''I am pleased with the progress of this major investigation to date,'' acting NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said in a statement. ''We are continuing to pursue many avenues of inquiry to find what caused this accident and what can be done to prevent such a tragedy in the future.''
NTSB spokesman Terry Williams declined to release information about who was exchanging text messages with Sanchez.
In the days after the crash, several teenage train enthusiasts told a Los Angeles Times reporter that Sanchez sent them a text message just before the collision.
The collision, which also injured more than 130 people, occurred on a horseshoe-shaped section of track in the community of Chatsworth.
Investigators say the two trains were in sight of each other only for a few seconds before the crash. The freight engineer was able to apply brakes but brakes were never applied on the Metrolink train, according to news reports.
Boardman issued the following statement the evening of Oct. 1:
"Todays announcement by the National Transportation Safety Board regarding the tragic Metrolink crash has made it clear that the use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices must be immediately addressed.
The bottom line is railroad operating employees cannot focus on their critical safety functions while engaging in phone conversations, texting or any other form of unessential electronic communication, often in violation of railroad operating rules.
"The consequences of inattentiveness and distraction are simply too catastrophic to be addressed at the operator or state level alone.
"As a result, we will issue an emergency order explicitly prohibiting the use of personal electronic devices by railroad employees while operating trains and in other settings. Everyone involved with rail travel deserves the full attention and focus of train operators, without exception and without excuse."
