Do you ever read a news item and immediately think of a song ? Start with the news and end with a cover of the song ......
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – A train engineer at the Port of Los Angeles was arrested Wednesday for allegedly derailing a locomotive at full speed near the USNS Mercy hospital ship being used to ease hospital beds during the coronavirus pandemic.
Eduardo Moreno, 44, of San Pedro, was charged in a criminal complaint with one federal count of train wrecking, which carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court states Moreno admitted to authorities in two separate interviews that he intentionally derailed and crashed the train near the Mercy on Tuesday afternoon.
Prosecutors say Moreno was arrested sometime later and turned over to FBI agents early Wednesday morning.
According to the complaint, Moreno ran the train off the tracks before crashing through a series of barriers, ultimately coming to rest more than 250 yards from the Mercy.Some more of the story
According to court documents, Moreno allegedly told the CHP officer, “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.”
The train derailed near the port Tuesday. (credit: CBS)
During an initial interview with port police, prosecutors say Moreno admitted crashing the train, , saying he was suspicious of the Mercy and believed it had an alternate purpose related to COVID-19, such as a “government takeover”.
Moreno later stated in a second interview with FBI agents that “he did it out of the desire to ‘wake people up,”’ according to the affidavit. “Moreno stated that he thought that the U.S.N.S. Mercy was suspicious and did not believe ‘the ship is what they say it’s for'”.
The affidavit states port police reviewed video footage from the train’s cab, which showed the locomotive clearly moving at a fast clip before crashing through several barriers and nearly hitting at least three cars.
A second video shows Moreno in the cab holding a lighted flare, the document alleges.And now a video of ..... CASEY JONES (covered by Warren Zevon)
