Robert Chacon
They were husbands, wives, parents and grandparents on their way to
work before the commuter train they rode derailed Wednesday in
Glendale, and 11 of them were killed.
Some worked for emergency departments for the county and Los
Angeles. Others were city government employees. Among the victims
identified by Thursday, at least two had local ties.
Authorities said more than 180 were hurt.
Most of the victims were riding on the southbound Metrolink train
heading to Union Station downtown, officials said.
The derailment happened after a Compton man left his SUV on the
tracks in front of the southbound commuter train in an aborted
suicide attempt, authorities said. The man abandoned his vehicle
before being struck, and the collision caused the train to derail,
officials said.
Prosecutors charged Juan Manuel Alvarez, 25, with multiple counts
of murder with special circumstances, which gives them the authority
to seek the death penalty.
Los Angeles County coroners have so far identified these
fatalities: Leonard Romero, 53, Rancho Cucamonga; Henry Kilinski, 39,
Orange; James Tutino, 47, Simi Valley; Scott McKeown, 42, Moorpark;
Manuel Alcala, 51, West Hills; Julia Bennett, 44, Simi Valley; Thomas
Ormiston, 58, Northridge; Elizabeth Hill, 65, Van Nuys; William
Parent; 53, Canoga Park; and Alfonso Caballero, 62, Winnetka.
Hill had worked for the city of Glendale for 26 years, most
recently as an accounting service specialist. She was planning to
retire in July.
McKeown, a train enthusiast who belonged to the Glendale Model
Railroad Club, left his job with the city of Glendale to work for
Pasadena a little more than a year ago. When he worked for Glendale,
he managed the city's telephone system.
Flags at Glendale City Hall were flown at half-staff in memory of
Hill and McKeown, and officials were planning a memorial service for
them on Thursday.
Tutino was a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department who worked at the Men's Central Jail.
Alcala was another sheriff's employee who worked 13 years as a
maintenance worker.
Bennett was a senior clerk typist for the Los Angeles Fire
Department's Fire Prevention Bureau.
Little personal information about the other victims has been
released by authorities .
