Man dies trying to kill girlfriend in train crashHe parked their car in the path of an oncoming Metrolink carrier. The woman is in serious condition.
By Richard Winton, Times Staff Writer
9:03 PM PDT, May 21, 2007
A man tried to kill his girlfriend Monday by parking their car in front of a speeding Metrolink commuter train, but instead died when debris from the crash struck him after he had been ejected from the car, police said.
His girlfriend, who was in the car when the train slammed into the vehicle’s passenger side, was seriously injured but is expected to survive.
Homicide detectives said they were trying to determine the man’s motive. They said they believe he was trying to kill the woman but they were unsure whether he also intended to commit suicide.
Los Angeles Police Department officers and Metrolink officials said they were amazed that no one else was hurt in the crash, which occurred at a crossing in Pacoima.
The incident began just after noon as the gate arm dropped at the rail crossing at San Fernando Road and Branford Street, Los Angeles Police Sgt. Lee Sands said.
Witnesses told police that they saw the couple shouting at each other inside a car that was waiting at the crossing for the oncoming Lancaster-bound train, which was filled with passengers, to pass. Suddenly, Sands said, the man pulled his car into the opposing lane of traffic, sped past two other waiting cars and the crossing gate, and parked on the tracks.
Some witnesses told police that the man appeared to have jumped out of the car just as the train hit the vehicle. But police believe that he was ejected from the car when the train hit it — perhaps while trying to leave the vehicle. The impact sent metal debris flying, with some of the pieces fatally wounding the man as he was running away, Sand