$2.8 Million Awarded to Parents in Train Death
An Orange County jury Friday ordered BNSF Railway, formerly known as Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, to pay $2.8 million to the parents of a Riverside commuter who died in a 2002 Metrolink accident in Placentia.
BNSF operated the mile-long freight train that smashed into the double-decker commuter train on April 23, 2002, killing Lawrence Sorensen, 48, and two others and injuring hundreds. The Sorensens’ suit is one of more than 150.
Federal investigators concluded that the accident was caused by a BNSF crew who missed a warning signal and the lack of an automatic braking system on the freight train.
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