ON THE RIGHT TRACK; METROLINK DETAIL NABS SCOFFLAWS.Byline: Eric Moses Daily News Staff Writer Police Lt. Don Meredith Joseph Don "Dandy Don" Meredith (born April 10, 1938 in Mount Vernon, Texas) is a retired American football quarterback in the NFL who played for the Dallas Cowboys, a former football commentator, and entertainer. climbed into the locomotive of Metrolink's Trooper Special on Tuesday with one thing in mind: preventing another fatal accident in the history of the commuter rail service. It didn't take long. Five minutes after the four-car train rolled north out of the Glendale station, Meredith spotted the first violator. An orange moving van was stuck at a red light at the West Broadway crossing, its rear end hanging over the tracks. Soon after the truck turned south on San Fernando Road San Fernando Road is a major street in the city and county of Los Angeles. It starts off in Castaic as The Old Road, passing through Santa Clarita and the Newhall Pass, where upon its intersection with Sierra Highway near the junction of the Golden State (I-5) and the , a patrol car was on its tail, ready to cite the driver for stopping on the tracks. It's illegal for any vehicle to stop on the tracks for any reason, even if the driver is caught in gridlock Gridlock A government, business or institution's inability to function at a normal level due either to complex or conflicting procedures within the administrative framework or to impending change in the business. . The fine could be as high as $270. ``That was a sweet violation,'' Meredith said. Had the train been traveling at its normal 79 mph - instead of the 20 mph it was doing for the law enforcement detail - the truck could have been hit. The special ``trooper on the train'' operation was part of Metrolink's Rail Safety Week program to alert motorists and pedestrians of the dangers of racing trains across the tracks. Today, Metrolink officials will release television ads alerting the public of the dangers of being near the tracks, or even jogging on them. On Thursday, the agency will begin a pilot photo enforcement operation in Pacoima and San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. to nab drivers trying beat trains through crossings. The locations of the cameras will be revealed at a news conference. Since Metrolink began operating the commuter rail service to and from downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or , 56 people have been killed by its trains. Nineteen of them in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , Glendale, Burbank and Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, , said spokesman Peter Hidalgo Hidalgo, state, Mexico Hidalgo (ēthäl`gō), state (1990 pop. 1,888,366), 8,058 sq mi (20,870 sq km), central Mexico. Pachuca de Soto is the capital. . Fifteen were in cars, one was on a bicycle and 41 were walking on the tracks, including the Aug. 15, 1994, deaths of a man, his daughter and granddaughter on the Glendale line Meredith patrolled Tuesday. Just before officers boarded the train in Burbank, a teen walked his bike across the tracks, ignoring the horn blasts from an oncoming on·com·ing adj. Coming nearer; approaching: an oncoming storm. n. An approach; an advance. Metrolink train, which narrowly missed him. The boy was cited. People can be cited for a variety of offenses, including failure to yield to the crossing arms and flashing red lights, and trespassing. The tracks are considered private property. In May, the Sheriff's Department, the agency that handles law enforcement for Metrolink, cited 152 motorists and 18 pedestrians. Not including tickets issued Tuesday, 116 motorists and seven pedestrians were cited this month. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, Chart PHOTO (1) Burbank motorcycle officers Wade Taylor, left, and Gary Seymour give a citation to motorist Roberto Munoz of Glendale on Tuesday. (2) A Metrolink train makes its way Tuesday toward an intersection in Burbank. (3) Glendale Police Lt. Don Meredith and Sheriff's Deputy Steve Smith watch for scofflaws as Engineer Ralph Magallan operates the train. John McCoy/Daily News CHART: METROLINK FATALITIES The number of people killed by Metrolink trains since the agency began operations in October 1992. SOURCE: Metrolink/Sheriff's Report Log |
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