MetroLink crash - LAPD Officer among the victims

[Socal-Cop]

I saw in a news article that an unnamed LAPD officer was killed in the Metrolink crash earlier today

[LA DEP]

And there I was praying that we didnt have any of OUR folks on the train....TSB Deputies are sometimes on the trains......

Any word on if he was just riding the train going home, or was on duty?.....

[Socal-Cop]

Nah the article didn't mention

[LA DEP]

SoCal....

Where did you see the article?.....its not on any of the LA area sites that I can find.....

[rapidarp]

That's really sad. My prayers to the Officer's family

LA DEP, the article is on Yahoo News, front page (for me, anyway).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/train_collision

The part mentioning the LAPD Officer is about half-way down the page. Just says the officer was among the dead. That's all.

[LA DEP]

Found it,,,,thanks.....

This is only article I have seen this mention in (so far).....

This collision either required several mistakes to make it happen, or it was set up deliberately.....there are several layers of protection to try and make sure this type of collision doesnt occur......

[Showboat]

And there I was praying that we didnt have any of OUR folks on the train....TSB Deputies are sometimes on the trains......

Any word on if he was just riding the train going home, or was on duty?.....

There was a TSB Deputy onboard. He is banged up good (broken ribs, I heard punctured lung too) but he made it and got the call out for help this afternoon.

[FireCop86]

She was on her way home, in class A's. She worked in my wifes divison. Obviously Im up at 0200 supporting my wife, so I thought Id check on here to see if anything else came up or anyone else in the LE community was involved in this very tragic disaster.

God Bless everyone onboard and my brothers and sisters who are still there, far past there E.O.W. and without complaint, assisting in rescue operations.

wow that sucks, my prayers with you and your wife, the officer and her family and all the other victims.

[Retired96]

The local morning news said she was a 7 1/2 veteran of LAPD. Spent most or her career at North Hollywood station and was a training officer there.

[1oldsarge]

News update next post

[1oldsarge]

Officer Spree Desha, 35, dies in Metrolink train

The Los Angeles Police Department officer who died in the Chatsworth train collision was identified by the LAPD as Spree Desha, a seven-year veteran who worked in the Office of Operations. She was off-duty at the time of the crash. Desha, 35, has previously worked in the North Hollywood division. When her body was removed from the wreckage about 10:20 pm, dozen of officers from the LAPD and other agencies saluted her flag-draped body and observed a long moment of silence.

At the same briefing where the officer's name was released, Sheriff Lee Baca said that sheriff's deputy John Ebert was seriously injured on the train and is hospitalized in intensive care in Simi Valley.

"This is a human tragedy that is beyond words. A horrific night this evening," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said at the 11 pm briefing. He said that the number of confirmed deaths remains at ten and the number of injured is 135. The number of fatalities is expected to grow as recovery efforts continue, Villaraigosa said, but he cautioned that the firefighters on scene remain in rescue mode. "I couldn't be prouder of the first responders tonight," Villaraigosa said.

* 12:25 am update: "Officer Desha will be missed by all of us and especially by her colleagues in the Office of Operations," said Tim Sands, president of the Police Protective League, in a statement.

[LAschoolCop]

I was at the school till 2 am last night with all of the familys of victims that have not been found yet Sad very sad!

[TWH]

This is terrible news. My heart goes out to Officer Desha's family,Deputy Ebert, and the other victims and their families.

As LA DEP previously said, there must have been many things that went wrong for something like this to happen. It's my understanding that the train dispatchers are suppose to keep an eye on the trains. Doesn't their computer system warm them of possible collisions situations or a switching malfunction? Whatever the case, this accident is totally unacceptable. Just totally unacceptable.

[Retired96]

The latest news is that the Metrolink engineer was at fault in that he failed to stop for a signal that would give the Freight train the right to pass first. Statements from other engineers stated that it was the policy for the passenger train to stop at the siding in Chatsworth and allow the freight trains to pass first.

[Garbage Man]

Who needs Al Queda when we have our own homegrown idiots asleep at the switch?