Caltrans to Remember Workers Slain a Year Ago

Caltrans employees at the Batavia Maintenance Station in Orange will observe a moment of silence today in remembrance of four colleagues killed a year ago by a disgruntled former worker.

“We will all be observing a moment of silence, and that includes all the field offices for Caltrans, which has about 900 employees,” said Rose Orem, a Caltrans spokeswoman.

The observance, scheduled for 9 a.m., “will help keep in mind that this was a terrible tragedy and that we don’t want to see it repeated,” Orem said.

The four killed were maintenance supervisor Hal B. Bierlein, 51, lead worker Wayne Bowers, 43, heavy equipment operator Michael Kelley, 49, and equipment operator Paul White, 30.

They were shot to death by Arturo Reyes Torres, 41, an ex-Marine who drove through the front gate of the Caltrans maintenance yard on Dec. 18, 1997 and started firing with an AK-47 assault rifle.

Torres, who had been fired for stealing scrap metal, shot and killed Bierlein--a former supervisor--and then he walked around an office trailer and fired more than 70 bullets, killing three other employees.

Torres wounded two others before he was killed in a gun battle with police.

Two lawsuits have been filed against Torres’ estate by victims’ relatives. The latest, which was filed this week by Bowers’ widow and her two children, also lists Caltrans as a defendant.

The lawsuit accuses Caltrans of gross negligence for failing to warn employees about Torres, who was “bitter and distraught” over his termination and was “dangerous and violent” as a result.