SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — A woman showed photos of her late partner. A girl described losing her dad at 13. A mother presented X-rays detailing the metal rods doctors put in to fix her son’s injured spine.
One by one, victims of a Southern California commuter train crash that killed 25 people and injured more than 100 others told their stories of hurt and heartache on Monday to executives of the company that accepted liability for the 2008 disaster.
“Imagine being 13, you’re already insecure, and having your dad taken away, your entire sense of security taken away,” Mackenzie Souser, now 15, said.
About 60 people whose lives were affected when a Metrolink train collided head-on with a freight train attended the meeting. Three executives from Veolia Transportation sat quietly and did not answer questions, which were conditions they set for attending the closed door-meeting.
They mostly avoided eye contact, yet despite their decision to remain silent, one of the executives wiped her eyes as she listened to the victims speak, according to those who were inside.
The full Associated Press story appears on The Olympian website.