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News

Metrolink Engineer Sent Txt Msg 22 Seconds Before Crash

Zach Behrens

Published Sep 30, 2008 11:00 PM

Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist

National Transportation Safety Board investigators released information this afternoon regarding Metrolink Engineer Robert Sanchez' cell phone records. He sent 29 text messages while on duty the day of the crash with the last one sent at 4:22:01 p.m. The However, the NTSB says precise timing of cell phone activity and how it correlates with the crash is still under investigation. According to preliminary estimates, the crash occurred at 4:22:23 pm.

The September 12th crash between the Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific Freight train killed 25 people, including Sanchez, and injured 135. One day after the crash, CBS2 had an exclusive announcing that Sanchez was possibly texting before the crash, which led to investigators subpoenaing his cell phone records.