(The following story by Thomas Himes appeared on the Pasadena Star-News website on March 22, 2010.)
PASADENA, Calif. — Authorities said a man killed by a Metrolink train over the weekend was a 20-year Union Pacific maintenance employee.
Coroner’s workers identified 56-year-year-old Roberto Ramirez as the man who died in the Saturday crash on tracks at Valley Boulevard and Temple Avenue.
Firefighters pronounced Ramirez dead at the scene.
“I just can’t tell you how sad of a deal this has been for us,” said Aaron Hunt, a spokesman for Union Pacific.
Based out of the company’s Visalia, California location, Ramirez was part of a “maintenance away crew” working on tracks in the area, Hunt said.
Calls to Ramirez’s family in Visalia were not immediately returned.
Hunt did not know what type of work Ramirez was doing when he died.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Pete Cacheiro said Ramirez drove around the railroad crossing gates before the crash.
Three Metrolink passengers sustained non-life threatening injuries, Metrolink spokeswoman Angie Starr said. The passengers were treated at a hospital, Starr said.
Train 354 departed Los Angeles at 9 a.m. en route to San Bernardino, had 138 passengers, an engineer and conductor, and two sheriff’s deputies on board, Starr said.
Union Pacific police, sheriff’s deputies and the Federal Rail Safety Administration are investigating the crash.
The crash came only two days after the Union Pacific police conducted a safety sting on the tracks, where officers tried to catch people who disobeyed crossing signals.
Police issued 76 citations Wednesday and 78 citations Thursday to people who violated crossing signals in Industry, Union Pacific Police Officer Jorge Villaescusa said.