For Victims, a Deadly Last Ride

One was a train lover whose regular seat on the Metrolink was up front, where he could see the engineer at work. Another was a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who specialized in gangs and coached high school football. A third was a clerk-typist with the Los Angeles Fire Department. A fourth was a maintenance worker at the county jail. A fifth was planning to retire in July.

They were among those killed when a Metrolink train slammed into the SUV that had been left on the tracks at a Glendale crossing Wednesday morning, then collided with two other trains.

The victims’ common bond was that they needed to get someplace from locations to the north and west of Los Angeles.

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Train Buff Rode in Front

Scott McKeown, 42, lived in Moorpark in Ventura County with his family and commuted each day to Pasadena City Hall, where he was in charge of the city’s phone, radio and sound systems.

He had fallen for trains when he was a boy and his family had come West from Chicago in one. He and his best friend, Joe Wilke, had made a model of the train line that included the track on which he was killed.

Wilke said that on days off, he and McKeown would take their families to Los Angeles by train for lunch, then return home in the afternoon.

McKeown had been sitting in his usual spot in the first car, directly behind a window where he could watch the engineer operate the controls, a friend told Wilke.

“For those of us who love trains, that’s where you sit,” Wilke said. “I’d like to think that Scott was having a good time.”

McKeown and his wife, Susan, moved to Moorpark four years ago because they wanted a family-friendly environment for daughter Ashley, 8, and son Brice, 5, said David Doan, his brother-in-law.

Doan also talked of McKeown’s passion for trains.

“He’d talk to the conductor, the engineers, the ticket man -- anyone who shared his love of trains,” he said.

McKeown was a member of the Glendale Model Railroad Club for 20 years, friends said. He helped build and maintain the club’s replica of the Southern Pacific Railroad, now Union Pacific.

“Scotty’s been coming in here since he was a kid,” said Fred Hill, the 62-year-old owner of the Original Whistle Stop train store in Pasadena. “He loved commuting on that train. He was a train nut.”

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Deputy Coached High School Football

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy James Tutino, 47, investigated gang activities in the Men’s Central Jail and still found time to coach football at Simi Valley High School in Ventura County.

Working hand in hand with anti-gang units on the street, Tutino had been repeatedly honored in recent years for assisting other Southern California law enforcement agencies in investigations involving murder, the Mexican Mafia and other cases. And he was the point man for wiretap investigations at the men’s jail, said Sgt. Mark McCorkle of the sheriff’s Custody Operations Division.

“He was hard-working, dedicated to his investigations, a team player and a quiet leader,” McCorkle said. “He was incredibly dependable and has a string of outstanding evaluations commending him on his work ethic and commitment to duty.”

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday issued a statement praising Tutino’s bravery in the line of duty and ordered that Capitol flags be flown at half-staff.

Tutino, who had worked at the jail since 1986, was a fitness buff who regularly ran long-distance races and lifted weights. And he balanced the demands of his professional life by coaching football and being with his family -- wife Rita and four adult children, two sons and two stepchildren, friends and family said.

Each summer and fall, Tutino would arrange his work around his duties as defensive coordinator of the Simi Valley High varsity football team.

“He was just the kind of guy who loved football, loved Simi Valley and loved being a public servant,” said Simi Valley head football Coach Karl Zierhut. “I think he was just naturally called to help kids. He’d rather see them at this end of the line than at the other end in his deputy’s job.

“His loss leaves a tremendous void,” Zierhut said. “It’s beyond football. He was just an outstanding human being. He constantly preached to our kids about attitude and work ethic and he just loved the kids.”

The 5-foot-10 Tutino had been an undersized guard and linebacker at Reseda High School in the 1970s.

Matt La Belle, athletic director at Simi Valley High, said Tutino had coached football at the school for five years, though he was paid only a small stipend.

“What made him different was just all the time he gave up for the kids,” La Belle said. “We have lots of coaches who show up for three months they’re in season and that’s all you see. He was here all the time. He probably made a penny or two an hour for the time, and he wasn’t even a teacher. He was doing this on his own time.”

During football season, Tutino would not only coach during the week, he would begin work at 5 a.m. so he could be available with little or no sleep for games and practices.

“He was a deputy, so I don’t know when he slept, because he was always there for the boys,” La Belle said.

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Glendale Worker Encouraged Others

Elizabeth Hill, 65, was on her way to work in the city of Glendale’s financial office. She had recently given notice that she would retire in July.

Assistant City Manager Robert K. McFall described her as someone other employees could go to for help and encouragement, both personally and professionally.

“People all knew Liz,” he said. “At some point during her 26 years she had touched or worked with nearly every employee in the city. She was just a good person and will definitely be missed.”

He said she is survived by her husband, a daughter and two grandchildren.

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Commuter Enjoyed Train’s Camaraderie

Julia Bennett, a 44-year-old senior clerk-typist with the L.A. Fire Department, was on her way to work at City Hall East when the crash occurred.

The daughter of a former Fire Department battalion chief, the Simi Valley resident had worked for the department for 19 years.

Neighbor Robert Johnson remembered Bennett as a fun-loving friend who considered her Fire Department co-workers a second family.

“She loved work, that’s all she ever talked about,” Johnson said. “Her captains were her babies. She took care of them.”

Johnson said Bennett was initially apprehensive about taking the train after transferring from Van Nuys to downtown two years ago, but soon grew to enjoy it. She always sat in the first car, he said.

“She took that train every day, and she often talked about the friends she made on the train and the camaraderie they’ve had riding in there together,” Johnson said.

Johnson said his family and the Bennetts often had backyard barbecues, and would make occasional Sunday motorcycle trips to Malibu.

Bennett is survived by her husband, Paul; daughter Lyndsay, 17, and stepdaughter Brittany, 15.

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West Hills Man Worked at Jail

Manuel D. Alcala, 51, of West Hills was a senior general maintenance worker at the county jail who had spent 13 years with the Sheriff’s Department. His survivors include his wife, Patricia Alcala; stepson Maximillanov Castillo, 32; daughter Crystal Alcala, 28, son Alejandro Alcala, 27, and stepson Maximillanov Castillo, 32.