PACOIMA : Coroner Rules Out Heart Attack in Train Accident
A Los Angeles city street maintenance truck driver who was struck Nov. 25 by a Metrolink train in Pacoima died of “massive traumatic injuries due to the blunt force of the impact,” a Los Angeles County coroner’s spokesman said Thursday.
Scott Carrier said an autopsy ruled out the possibility that Jaime Farias, 37, had a heart attack, a stroke or some other physical ailment that would have prevented him from driving the truck out of the train’s path.
Farias, of Los Angeles, was driving a city dump truck across Metrolink tracks when it was struck by the train, which was traveling 77 m.p.h. A preliminary investigation indicates that the truck did not stall and that Farias was not trying to outrun the train.
Farias was the only fatality in the 6:50 a.m. accident that derailed the train and prompted investigations by federal, state and local authorities.
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