Teen charged in Calif. train derailment
Associated Press - March 11 2005
SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. - A 14-year-old boy was charged with causing a train wreck after
authorities said he pulled a switch and three cars of a train hauling chemicals derailed.
No one was hurt by Wednesday's derailment outside Los Angeles and there was no chemical leak. But
the freight cars struck a commercial building and several utility poles, causing a brief power
outage, authorities said.
The boy, whose name was not released, admitted pulling the switch, Union Pacific railroad spokesman
John Bromley said. He was arrested Thursday.
The switch lever was equipped with a lock but it may not have been locked, Federal Railroad
Administration spokesman Warren Flatau said.
Authorities said two other boys were believed to be present when the train derailed, and they could
be cited for trespassing on railroad property.