(The following story by Gina Tenorio appeared on the San Bernardino Sun website on May 17.)
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — After 20 minutes of listening to fire and Union Pacific Railroad officials Tuesday evening, Jose Avila marched out of the City Council chambers in disgust.
“Lies,’ the 46-year-old said in Spanish. “All lies. They’re talking about things that are convenient to them.’
Avila joined more than 150 residents in council chambers Tuesday to meet those responsible for evacuating more than 500 residents following an April 4 train derailment. They also wanted to ask Union Pacific officials about several mystery illnesses that a number of residents claim they have struggled with since the incident.
Avila and Juan Gonzalez both neighbors at the Sequoia Mobile Home Park walked out of Tuesday’s meeting in anger after being shushed for grumbling in protest.
“I just couldn’t sit there anymore and listen to it,’ Gonzalez, 38, said in Spanish.
The meeting was organized in part, by San Bernardino Mayor Judith Valles, who, during the meeting, said she was trying to get residents’ questions answered.
Attending were members of the Union Pacific Railroad who removed 13 train cars that derailed April 4 near Foothill Avenue just east of Meridian Avenue.
Union Pacific officials reassured the crowd that only one of the hazardous chemicals leaked out and it posed no threat to the community. They also offered more insight into what caused the derailment.
Dubbed the Slover incident by Union Pacific, the derailment occurred because of a fraction-of-an-inch change in the angle in the rails, said Denny Gallegos, manager of track projects for Union Pacific Railroad. In other words, the rails were just uneven enough to create a problem, officials said.
The angle caused the heavy rail cars to slowly rock back and forth, eventually lifting one of the car’s wheels off the track. It then landed on the ground rather than the rail, officials said.
“The train traveled for one-half of a mile before the pileup,’ Gallegos said.
Representative after representative stood before the crowd to explain the procedures that were followed.
Air samples were negative for contaminates, they said. No leaks were detected in the cars, they said. And though several of the cars derailed, they said many remained upright and none of the materials inside were released into the environment. City fire officials said the evacuation was precautionary.
Residents strained to hear Gallegos’ words, which San Bernardino City Fire Capt. Eric Esquivel translated. He also translated for the predominantly Spanish-speaking crowd.
Residents were not convinced.
Many have suffered headaches and nausea, they said. Children have developed rashes.
In addition, residents are still reeling from the fear they felt during the incident. One woman told the crowd her child can no longer tolerate the sound of the trains.
Gonzalez said he was not allowed to return to his home despite his need for medication to prevent blood clots in his brain. Since the evacuation was precautionary, officials should have let him return, he said.
“You guys didn’t care about the residents,’ said Sally Garcia, a resident of Macy Street.
During a question-and-answer period, Garcia continued to press officials as to who devised the evacuation plan until Police Chief Garrett W. Zimmon approached the podium.
“No one agency can take sole responsibility for any one part,’ he told Garcia. “We try to work as a team.’