CRASH DETAILS EMERGE SUSPECT TRIED SUICIDE AFTER SEEING WRECK.

Byline: Naush Boghossian and Troy Anderson Staff Writers

GLENDALE - Juan Manuel Alvarez, charged with murder with special circumstances in the deaths of 11 Metrolink passengers, slashed and stabbed himself after seeing the horrific train crash he caused, sources close to the investigation said Thursday.

Alvarez, 25, despondent over the breakup of his marriage, had planned to kill himself when he drove his green Jeep Grand Cherokee in the path of a Metrolink train, officials said, but he bolted from the vehicle at the last moment.

As he watched, southbound Train No. 100 smashed into the SUV and derailed, then rammed a parked Union Pacific freight train and collided with another Metrolink train heading north out of Union Station.

As onlookers and emergency crews rushed to help those trapped in the flaming wreckage, Alvarez walked to a female friend's home in nearby Atwater Village, where he slashed his wrists and stabbed himself in the chest, the sources said.

``Now that we have done further investigation, we know the self- inflicted wounds were received after he placed the car on the tracks and after he fled from the scene,'' one source said. ``When paramedics responded, that's how we became aware of his location.''

Alvarez appeared remorseful, sources said, making spontaneous statements about the crash to paramedics and law-enforcement officials who responded to the friend's 911 call.

Eleven people died and about 180 were injured in the crash at 6:02 a.m. Wednesday. Seven people remained in critical condition on Thursday.

Within hours of the crash, Alvarez was arrested on suspicion of murder. He is being held without bail at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center jail ward, where he is being treated for the self-inflicted wounds.

Alvarez was charged early Thursday with 10 counts of murder with the special circumstances of multiple murders and murder caused by train derailment, an extremely rare charge. After the body of an 11th victim was discovered, District Attorney Steve Cooley said another murder count would be added to the complaint.

The special circumstances could make Alvarez eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted, but Cooley said he hadn't yet decided whether to pursue the capital charges.

The Alvarez family retained attorney Eric A. Chase of the Chase Law Group in Studio City to represent him. Chase and fellow attorney Debra S. White said they expect Alvarez's arraignment, originally scheduled for Thursday, to be held today.

In filing the charges, Cooley said he was unmoved by Alvarez's emotional state before the crash.

``He's not going to engage my sympathy because he was despondent,'' Cooley said. ``The special circumstances alleged could lead to the death penalty but only after a careful evaluation of all the facts and circumstances that related to the particular incident. We're all aware of Mr. Alvarez's background.''

But legal observers predicted Cooley will have a hard time getting a conviction on the special circumstances allegations because he would have to prove that Alvarez intended to kill people on the train. Statements by law enforcement officials that the train crash was the result of an aborted suicide attempt don't support that notion, they said.

``It suggests to me that he didn't have an intent to kill,'' said Elyn Saks, a professor of law, psychology and psychiatry in behavioral sciences at the University of Southern California School of Law.

``On the other hand, just putting the car there on the tracks was extremely reckless.''

Saks said prosecutors might do better to charge Alvarez with ``depraved heart'' murder, the equivalent of second-degree murder, rather than more serious first-degree charges.

Attorneys also said statements made by Sheriff Lee Baca, Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn and others that Alvarez was ``deranged'' and a ``crazed individual'' will not help defense attorneys in a possible insanity defense to spare him a potential death sentence.

James E. Blatt, a high-profile criminal defense attorney based in Encino, said it seemed obvious that Alvarez was mentally ill and disabled, but that there was a much higher standard concerning an insanity defense.

``He did have enough wherewithal to jump out of the way of the train to preserve his life,'' Blatt said. ``He appears remorseful. And at first blush, he appears to understand the consequences of his actions.''

As grieving friends and families mourned the deaths of their loved ones, city, state and federal investigators continued to comb through the massive pile of debris and twisted metal at the scene.

``It's been an extremely long and difficult two days with the rescue and recovery of victims in this tragic accident,'' Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. ``All emergency personnel working through these tough times are not only trying to get victims reunited with their loved ones, but at the back of their minds know they have fellow employees who were injured or died.

``We want to make sure we do a very thorough job.''

The National Transportation Safety Board has assigned 10 investigators to assist the Glendale Police Department.

``They will spend the next few weeks looking at documenting different aspects of the event like the crash-worthiness of the (rail) cars and survivability issues like how people were injured and what might be done to protect them better,'' agency spokesman Paul Schlamm said.

``We're trying to learn as much as we can from this.''

Staff Writer Dana Bartholomew contributed to this report.

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com

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(color) Investigators on Thursday pore over the wreckage of the SUV involved in Wednesday's Metrolink commuter train crash in which 11 people died and nearly 200 were injured.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer