Rail Tragedy’s Indelible Images and Lessons

Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley’s swift filing of murder charges against Juan Manuel Alvarez in the Metrolink disaster (Jan. 28) may be another legal blunder, a la the Simpson murder trial. In California, a murder conviction must show “malice aforethought,” or intent. The penal code defines such malice as “a deliberate intention unlawfully to take away the life of a fellow creature,” or “an abandoned and malignant heart.”

By placing his car on the rails, Alvarez showed himself to be disturbed, deranged and reckless, but can it be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he had malice toward the train passengers, or an intent to kill them? Jurors will say no. This is a clear case of manslaughter, Mr. Cooley, not murder. Don’t blow it in an attempt at grandstanding.

Olu Karib

Inglewood

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We are a nation with great pride in our technology. We have “smart bombs,” remotely operated aircraft, long-range missiles that can hit small target thousands of miles away. Our weaponry is the best in the world because we are willing to spend whatever it takes to make it so.

Why can’t we protect passengers on a commuter train from an errant stray car that happens to park on the tracks? Because we don’t spend the money to develop the technology.

I have an idea: Convince the administration that the car was parked there by a terrorist or other enemy. They will borrow the money tomorrow and develop some safety systems with multiple redundancy that will shortly make such incidents a thing of the past.

Richard Young

Claremont

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I rode Metrolink for years and never picked the front car if the engine was at the rear of the train. In the wake of the latest disaster some experts still claim that the engine placement factor isn’t conclusive in preventing death or injuries. How much more proof do we need? Have the same tragic results ever happened when the engine was pulling the train?

Fred Bergendorff

San Marcos

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When a disaster such as the recent train wreck in Glendale is caused by a deranged citizen, why is anyone surprised? I work in the public sector, where I serve a variety of deranged and transient individuals who are on their own every single day. None of them appears to have access to any mental or any other kind of healthcare, and all of them are out on the streets. Some are also driving, as well as living, every day without adequate social services or healthcare. So, why is anyone surprised about disasters like this?

Until our “land of the free” has comprehensive, socialized healthcare for all, disasters such as this will only get more frequent.

Stephanie Spika

Long Beach

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As a Metrolink rider who takes the same route as one of the trains involved in Wednesday’s catastrophe, I can certainly say there are a lot of wonderful people who ride these trains, and who develop close and lasting relationships with fellow commuters. It is a shame that one individual can have such a devastating impact on so many lives.

On one hand, you have despicable people who carelessly put themselves and others in harm’s way; on the other, you have common everyday heroes like the Costco employees who rushed out to rescue many of the passengers. I think this horrific event showed humanity at its worst and best, the latter far outweighing the former.

Larry Tamblyn

Northridge