An engineer deliberately ran a train off the tracks at high speed near the Port of Los Angeles in an attempt to crash into the USNS Mercy hospital ship, prosecutors say.
The Pacific Harbor Line train derailed Tuesday, running through the end of the track and crashing through barriers, finally coming to rest about 250 yards from the docked naval ship.
Federal prosecutors allege train engineer Eduardo Moreno, 44, of San Pedro intended to hit the ship, saying he thought it was “suspicious” and did not believe “the ship is what they say it’s for.'”
The train crashed into a concrete barrier at the end of the track, smashed through a steel barrier and a chain-link fence, slid through one parking lot and then a second lot filled with gravel and hit a second chain-link fence. It came to rest after passing under a ramp leading to the Vincent Thomas Bridge. The train remained in that position Wednesday.
No one was injured in the derailment, but the train leaked fuel that required a hazmat response.
Powerful Dem’s jabs at Trump come back to haunt her after office raided by FBI: ‘Aged well’
DeSantis hits Obama with brutal one-line response to DOJ politicization accusation: ‘Would like a word’
Karoline Leavitt welcomes daughter Viviana: ‘perfect and healthy’
EXCLUSIVE: Harvard-Trained MD Says ‘Coercive’ Vaccine Push Shattered Trust and Has Harris Voters Questioning the Experts
Watch: Hero Dad With a Gun Takes on Carjacker Who Turned Out to Be an Illegal… and Is Now Dead
Rabid beaver attacks boy fishing at New Jersey lake, prompting health officials to warn residents
Hantavirus cruise death toll rises to five after eight confirmed infections: WHO
Gorsuch highlights staggering decline in civic literacy that prompted him to author new book
Top Spanberger ally targeted in FBI corruption probe has long history of controversy
Watch: Tom Homan Ruins Kathy Hochul’s Night With Unexpected Update on Trump Policy on Live TV
Border Patrol Raids Disney Cruise Ship, Finds Every Parent’s Nightmare Lurking on Board – This Is What Dems Want Defunded
Feds seize mountain of fentanyl from ‘open-air drug market’ in massive crackdown targeting gang crews
Americans keep moving to Texas and Florida — but one other red state is growing even faster
China orders firms to ignore US Iran sanctions, daring US to enforce crackdown
Mamdani Berates Billionaire Outside His Residence Near UnitedHealthcare CEO Assassination Site
Authorities say Moreno admitted to crashing the train intentionally, but said he did not plan it out in advance. It is believed that he acted alone.
He allegedly made statements to a CHP officer that included “You only get this chance once. The whole world is watching. I had to. People don’t know what’s going on here. Now they will.”
Officials say video from inside the train’s cab shows Moreno holding a lighted flare during the incident.
Moreno has been charged with one count of train wrecking, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
The Mercy arrived at the Port of Los Angeles this weekend.
The Navy hospital ship was brought in to handle non-coronavirus patients, to help ease the burden of local hospitals that are surging with COVID-19 cases.
The ship has about 1,000 hospital beds, with some 800 active-duty doctors, nurses and medical staff on board. It is expected to stay in Los Angeles at least until September or until it is no longer needed.
Story cited here.
