Family of Blue Line Victim Hears Echoes of a Tragedy : Accident: A day after mother of 11 was struck and killed by a trolley, transit officials maintain that safety equipment did not malfunction.

Outside Rosa Ceballos’ house, her family and friends spent Friday lost in mourning, still stunned by her sudden death along the trolley tracks in Watts.

Her grown children leaned against the fence, rubbing their eyes and speaking softly to one another. Some of her grandchildren bicycled silently past.

But when the Blue Line train sounded its whistle and hurtled by, everyone looked up and some shook their heads.

It was on those tracks in front of her home that Rosa Ceballos, a 66-year-old mother of 11, had become an unfortunate part of history.

When she was struck Thursday evening by a southbound train, Ceballos became the first Blue Line fatality since the Los Angeles-Long Beach light rail service began in mid-July. According to transit officials, Ceballos was on her way to church when she was hit head-on by a train traveling about 55 m.p.h.

Witnesses gave conflicting accounts of the accident--at the intersection of Century Boulevard and South Graham Avenue--and disagreed over whether the warning lights and gates were operating when the train entered the intersection.

Clara Domingo, a neighbor who said she saw the train hit Ceballos, claimed that the warning gates lining both sides of the crossing did not come down until after the train had stopped.

But Andrea Greene, a spokeswoman for the Southern California Rapid Transit District, said Friday that Blue Line passengers as well as riders waiting on a nearby bus told police that the warning signals were working and that the train operator had blown his whistle.

Ceballos died shortly after being taken to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, and an investigation is now under way by the RTD and Los Angeles Police Department.

The driver of the train was identified Friday as Rodolfo Megliorino, 42, of Los Angeles. Greene said the 15-year RTD employee was not cited by police and is scheduled to return to work on Monday. Greene said she could not disclose anything about his driving record.

Megliorino could not be reached for comment, but Goldy Norton, a spokesman for the United Transportation Union, which represents the 48 Blue Line operators, said adequate safety precautions have been taken by drivers and rail officials.

“It’s a shame and tragedy that this happened, but other than trying to get people to understand that these trains are moving fast and they are a danger, I don’t know what else can be done,” Norton said.

Mas Fukai, a member of the RTD board and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, said Friday he has asked transit officials to review the safety measures at the Century Boulevard intersection and at other crossings.

“I just want to make sure all precautionary measures have been taken,” he said. “We don’t have the full details of what happened yet, but perhaps we can learn from this tragedy.”

Meanwhile, Ceballos’ family and friends say it will take time to get over the shock of her death.

“She was the best mother, she loved everybody,” said her son, Andres Barrientos.

A native of Zacatecas, Mexico, Ceballos had arrived in Los Angeles 10 years ago and spent much of her time at St. Lawrence of Brindisi parish, helping serve free lunches to the poor and attending daily Mass.

“She would sometimes run all the way from home to church because she was afraid of being late,” said a priest. “She always wanted to make it on time.”