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$200 Million Chatsworth Metrolink Settlement Expected to be Approved Today
A closeup from the rescue effort (more photos here) | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist
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Nearly two years to the date, a judge today is expected to sign off on a $200 million settlement that would go to family members and survivors of fatal Metrolink train crash in Chatsworth. On the afternoon of Friday, September 12th, 2008 a Metrolink train headed to Ventura County crashed head-on with a Union Pacific freight train, killing 25 people and injuring 125 more.
Whether $200 million is enough or not, that is the federal cap on passenger rail accidents, but more than 100 lawsuits are still pending in courts.
The National Transportation Safety Board earlier this year found that the engineer, who died, was texting when he ran a red light warning him not to proceed down the single-track section.
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