Yorba Linda : Santa Fe Fires 3, Clears 1 in Collision of Freights

Three crew members in the lead locomotive involved in a collision of two Santa Fe Railway freight trains last month in Yorba Linda have been fired for inattention and failing to stop.

Conductor R.D. Eckard, engineer Mark L. Rich and brakeman Rich Mitchell were found to have violated 15 company rules after a hearing this week in Los Angeles before officials of the railroad, the National Transportation Safety Board, Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Railroad Administration, said Michael A. Martin, a Santa Fe spokesman.

One of the crew members was found to have violated the company’s substance-abuse rule, Martin said. He declined to name the crew member, citing confidentiality.

Federal rules require drug testing of all crew members involved in train accidents. But results of drug tests from the April 4 collision have not been made public.

The accident happened when an eastbound train traveling at 40 m.p.h. ran into a westbound train as it pulled onto a siding, causing $700,000 damage, Martin said. The westbound train was traveling about 15 m.p.h.

The crew members fired were on the eastbound train. A fourth member on that train was not found at fault, he said.

All four crew members, who each had more than 10 years of experience with the railroad, leaped from the locomotive moments before it crashed into the westbound train, Martin said. The men suffered cuts and scrapes.