Time to Derail Commuter Transportation Disasters

Guest Column by CAROL CORMACI

Muddled by some nasty virus, my head couldn't at first quite focus yesterday morning on the TV news report of the commuter train catastrophe in Glendale. I could see a map pointing out the San Fernando Road/Chevy Chase location of the smashup and my initial reaction was to wonder if my husband had taken the train to work and whether or not he was safe.

Gil does occasionally travel to or from his office in Oxnard out of the Glendale train station, but not this week. Had I been more awake, I would have remembered he was at some media event near LAX by the time I awoke. So he was not one of the (at least) 10 dead in the ghastly wreck. That realization came to me within a few moments and I was relieved.

When I arrived at our office, I learned that the husband of Kim Garrison, one of our staffers, is regularly on the train that was derailed. But he, too, was suffering from some virus and had opted to stay home from work Wednesday. I was incredibly relieved for Kim and her family.

As the hours went by and more news was released, my relief turned to anger. I am livid with the 25-year-old who admitted to parking his SUV on the train tracks, reportedly intent on killing himself before dashing to his own safety. I am incensed that he is responsible for so many deaths and injuries. I'm enraged on behalf of survivors and the families whose loved ones did not come home yesterday.

I'd like to wring the guy's neck personally. Since I'm not likely to get the opportunity to do that, I guess I'll have to settle for joining in the outcry and insisting that something be done now to stop these idiots from trying to commit suicide in front of commuter trains. How many times does it have to happen before a solution is finally found? Obviously beefed up crossing bars and public education efforts have not put an end to the problem.

Staff writer Jake Armstrong commented that in light of the many accidents that have occurred along the rail lines it's no wonder transportation officials have such a tough time selling the public on the idea of using the Metrolink trains. Kim answered his comment by saying that until yesterday, she'd never given a second thought to her husband's weekday practice of boarding the train in the Valley for his commute to downtown LA. "Now I don't want him to do it anymore," she said.

I know Kim is not the only one who feels that way; despite the fact my husband could be killed in a car accident any day of the week, I share her view. There's just something about hearing about so many deaths generated by a single collision that raises the hair on the back of my neck.

It's past time to bring an end to the commuter rail disasters. The feds and the state need to work together now to find a solution before more lives are needlessly lost.