PACOIMA : Board Rejects Claim in Metrolink Death

The regional governing board of the Metrolink commuter train service Friday rejected a $5-million wrongful death claim filed by the family of a truck driver who died in a Nov. 25 Metrolink accident in Pacoima, Metrolink officials said.

Jaime Farias, 37, of Los Angeles was killed and 12 rail passengers were injured in a fiery collision with a Metrolink train at an unmarked crossing. It was the first accident for the rail system, which had begun operating only a month earlier.

The claim, filed under the name Jaime Farias Jr., was rejected by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority after a closed-door meeting in San Bernardino, Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo said. Under the law, those who wish to sue the authority must first file such a claim and can sue if it is rejected, Hidalgo said.

Police and rail safety investigators have yet to determine why Farias, a Los Angeles city street maintenance truck driver, had driven onto the tracks as a Metrolink train approached at 77 m.p.h.