fuck this guy:

At least 10 killed as California trains derail
Crash caused by SUV left on tracks by apparently suicidal man
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:43 p.m. ET Jan. 26, 2005

GLENDALE, Calif. - A suicidal man parked his vehicle on railroad tracks Wednesday and set off a crash of two commuter trains that hurled passengers down the aisles and turned rail carriages into smoking, twisted heaps of steel, authorities said. At least 10 people were killed and more than 180 injured.

The collision took place just before daybreak on the outskirts of Los Angeles, creating a scene of carnage: Employees at a Costco store rushed to the wreckage and pulled riders from the tipped-over double-deck cars before the flames reached them. Dazed passengers staggered to safety. One elderly man on the train was covered in blood and soot, his legs and arms apparently broken.

“I heard a noise. It got louder and louder,” said passenger Diane Brady, 56. “And next thing I knew the train tilted, everyone was screaming and I held onto a pole for dear life. I held on for what seemed like a week and a half it seemed. It was a complete nightmare.”

Huge rescue operation
Dozens of the injured were in critical condition, and more than 120 people were sent to hospitals.

At least 10 are killed and 200 injured in a train derailment in Glendale, CA. Click "Launch" to see the images.
The wreck set in motion a huge rescue operation involving more than 300 firefighters, some of whom climbed ladders to reach the windows of the battered train cars. A triage center was set up in a parking lot, where the injured lay sprawled on color-coded mats — red for those with severe injuries, green for those less seriously hurt.

Authorities said the nation’s deadliest rail disaster in nearly six years was caused by an aborted suicide attempt by a man who parked his sport utility vehicle on the tracks. Police said he changed his mind about killing himself and got out of the vehicle before a Metrolink train smashed into it.

The train then derailed and collided with another train going in the opposite direction. That train also jumped the tracks.

Change of heart
Juan Manuel Alvarez, 25, of Compton, was arrested and will face homicide charges, police Chief Randy Adams said. Alvarez had also slashed his wrists and stabbed himself, but the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, authorities said. Adams said Alvarez had a criminal record that involved drugs.

“This whole incident was started by a deranged individual that was suicidal,” Adams said. “I think his intent at that time was to take his own life but changed his mind prior to the train actually striking this vehicle.”

Alvarez's sister-in-law, Maricela Amaya, told Telemundo TV that he had separated from his wife, Carmelita, three months ago. She said the wife got a court order to keep him away, but he had tried to see his wife and son.

"He was having problems with drugs and all that and was violent and because of that he separated from her," Amaya said in Spanish.

"A few other times he went around as if he wanted to kill himself. I said if you're going to kill yourself, go kill yourself far away. Don't come by here telling that to my sister."

She said he had also threatened suicide in front of his son.

The crash occurred at about 6 a.m. in an industrial area of Glendale, a suburb north of Los Angeles. One train was headed for Los Angeles’ Union Station from Moorpark, a western suburb. The other train was outbound from Union Station to the San Fernando Valley.

Store workers aid in rescue
About a dozen employees from the Costco ended up playing an important part in the rescue after hearing the thunderous collision.

Costco employee Jenny Doll said trapped passengers — some severely injured — screamed for help as flames raced toward the front of a train car and smoke and diesel fumes filled the air. Forklift operators, truck drivers and stock clerks worked side-by-side to pull victims out, using store shopping carts to wheel some of the most severely injured to safety.

“There were people stuck in the front. Everything was mangled,” Doll said. “You could not even tell that it was a train cab at all.”

Anguished relatives rushed to the area to find out what had become of their loved ones.

George Touma, 19, said he was called by his mother, who was on one of the trains.

“She told me she was bleeding in the head and her arm was really hurting,” said Touma, who searched for her. “I’m really worried because she has vertigo, and when I tried to call back she wouldn’t answer.

Worst rail wreck in six years
It was the worst U.S. rail tragedy since March 15, 1999, when an Amtrak train hit a truck and derailed near Bourbonnais, Ill., killing 11 people and injuring more than 100.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Railroad Administration were sent.

“The magnitude of the incident requires a large team,” Transportation Department spokesman Robert Johnson said.

Hugo Moran, one of Costco employees who rushed to the wreck, could not fathom the suicide attempt.

“There’s a lot of ways to do it without hurting someone else,” Moran said. “Was he mad at himself or mad at the world? I don’t understand it.”
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

He beat you to the punch by 1 minute. Sorry.

http://www.theskyiscrape.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8155

--PunkDavid