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Loading ...Deadly crash investigation focuses on gay engineer
09.17.2008 5:19pm EDT
(Los Angeles, California) The investigation into what caused a commuter train to smash into a freight engine Friday in Southern California killing 25 people is focusing on the engineer of the Metrolink train – Robert Sanchez.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is conducting the probe, said Wednesday that Sanchez ran through a red light and never hit his brakes in the final moments before the fatal collision.Sanchez was one of the 25 killed in the crash.
The NTSB has found the signals and tracks were working properly, and has narrowed its investigation to human error. The agency has subpoenaed Sanchez’s cell phone records to determine whether he was text messaging before the crash.
But it also wants to examine why Sanchez was working an 11 1/2-hour split shift at the time of the crash.
“Split schedules are something of great concern to us,” NTSB spokesperson Kitty Higgins told The Associated Press. “But whether that played a role in the accident is much too early to say.”
Sanchez is described as a loner. An investigation by The Los Angeles Times found that in recent years he lived in Oregon, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Nebraska and California.
His family told The Times that Sanchez settled on California because of the weather and the freedom to be gay.
He and partner Daniel Charles Burton, a waiter, lived in Studio City before buying a home in 2000 in the San Bernardino Mountains.
But on Feb. 14, 2003, Burton hanged himself in the garage of their home. “Rob, Happy Valentine’s Day,” read a note Burton left behind that was obtained by The Times. “I love you. Please take care of yourself and Ignatia [the couple's greyhound] . I love you both very much. Daniel.”
In 2002, Sanchez was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting a video game the Times said, quoting his former attorney.
He had three minor traffic violations and two tax run-ins with the IRS, the paper said.
Also killed in the crash was Spree Desha, 35, an out lesbian who was an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department.
I love the way these officials come out and say they’re concerned about people working double shifts, like Sanchez and air traffic controllers for instance, AFTER a tragedy like this happens. Why didn’t they do something about it before hand?
And the Times assertion that he was a loner? Some loner, obviously he was texting someone right? Or maybe that’s just speculation…
Either way it’s a sad story.
The poor guy had been put through the ringer by the law. He was arrested for “suspicion” of a crime, so who knows if he actually commited that crime. Los Angeles and other police departments around the LA metro area love to falsely arrest gay people and once they are in jail they are assaulted with a barrage of homophobia by the jail staff and the inmates follow behind with more gay bashing. I think that they arrest gay people just to get a kick out of torturing them, even if it’s just “suspicion”. If he had survived they probably would have put him though the ringer again with charges filed.
Yes, sounds like the death of his lover was hard on him. I mean can you imagine finding him and that note.
Odds are it will come out that he sought psychiatric help and couldn’t get it or did and had an unsympathetic counselor.
Waite for the facts. Quit making them up.
Why don’t they write about the other 23 people who died The fact that he was gay is the smallest part of the story. Each person who died had story to be told. I love getting news about gay events, but don’t over do it.
Yeah and in future articles could you use slightly more words and can the font be a different shade of black.