Gate malfunction probed in train crash

Investigators looked into the possibility Monday that a crossing gate malfunction led to the weekend crash in Covina of a car and a Metrolink train that killed a 53-year-old man and his 10-year-old niece.

Metrolink officials said they continue to believe that the equipment at the crossing was working properly when the collision occurred Sunday afternoon and that the driver of the car may have tried to outrace the train or drive around the gate. Covina police agreed that those are possible explanations, but they also reported that two witnesses said an arm of the gate failed to come down.

More information is expected to be released this morning after Metrolink officials finish an evaluation of computerized records tracking the performance of the gate at the Barranca Avenue crossing where the crash occurred.

Authorities identified the dead as Earl Lorenzo Brown, 53, the driver, and his niece, Raven Elizabeth Smith, 10, both of Covina. The name of the car’s other passenger, Brown’s 12-year-old daughter, was not released, but officials said she was being treated for injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening and that her medical outlook is good.

The two deaths Sunday raised the number of fatalities in Metrolink accidents to four this year.