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2020-04-02 Home Front: Culture Wars
Pac Harbor (LA) Train Engineer trys to crash train into USNS Mercy
I thought at first this was a satire but evidently not
(KABC) -- An engineer deliberately ran a train off the tracks at high speed near the Port of Los Angeles in an attempt to crash into and damage 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.

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.
Posted by lord garth 2020-04-02 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11134 views ]  Top

#1 he thought it was "suspicious" and did not believe "the ship is what they say it's for.'"

Got to lay off that MSNBC, dude.
Posted by Procopius2k 2020-04-02 02:29||   2020-04-02 02:29|| Front Page Top

#2 You have to really dig into these. This is a highly unusual act, which must have happened for a highly unusual reason. But the media will never tell you. Don't want anyone asking questions.
Posted by Herb McCoy 2020-04-02 02:55||   2020-04-02 02:55|| Front Page Top

#3 Climb Mount Nitaka?
Posted by Vortigern Smiter of the Faeries4396 2020-04-02 03:44||   2020-04-02 03:44|| Front Page Top

#4 Would love to know where he's getting these ideas, and if he has a history of mental illness.
Posted by Rob Crawford 2020-04-02 08:41||   2020-04-02 08:41|| Front Page Top

#5 Any conspiracy crackpot site will do, Rob. I see way to many people freaking out that FEMA camps under DIA are coming true.
Posted by DarthVader 2020-04-02 09:02||   2020-04-02 09:02|| Front Page Top

#6 #5 Any conspiracy crackpot site will do,

You do include CNN, MSNBC, CBS, etc. in that list, right?
Posted by AlanC 2020-04-02 10:38||   2020-04-02 10:38|| Front Page Top

#7 Always AlanC!
Posted by DarthVader 2020-04-02 11:00||   2020-04-02 11:00|| Front Page Top

#8 I wonder if the Mercy has a mental ward.
Posted by gorb 2020-04-02 11:17||   2020-04-02 11:17|| Front Page Top

#9 gorb, he ain't going to the Mercy.
Posted by Rambler in Virginia 2020-04-02 12:33||   2020-04-02 12:33|| Front Page Top

#10 "Pardon me boy , is this the Chattanooga Cho,Cho ? " " No Seignior , Es Pac Harbor Express . "
Posted by Thaith Elmeresing6163 2020-04-02 12:38||   2020-04-02 12:38|| Front Page Top

#11 Nutty as a squirrel sites abound (not counting MSNBC, of course), for example:
Conspiracy Theories Abound as U.S. Military Closes HAARP
Posted by magpie 2020-04-02 12:58||   2020-04-02 12:58|| Front Page Top

#12 In other SoCal weirdness news, there were lots of flares off SD Tuesday evening. Hadn't noticed any in months, but suddenly, there they were, in the usual ones and twos, and finally six in a line. Pretty sure it was a coded message to head down to the beach and shoot at Chinese submarines. In any case, the Daily Schlocker reports (h/t Drudge) mass mystification, even consternation, all the way from Tijuana to Laguna Beach. Shirley, we're doomed!
Posted by Don Vito Gurly-Brown4692 2020-04-02 14:04||   2020-04-02 14:04|| Front Page Top

#13 There is an old-timey naval proverb that "A ship is a fool that fights a fort". I don't know any about trains vs ships, so I think we're in uncharted waters here.
Posted by SteveS 2020-04-02 14:07||   2020-04-02 14:07|| Front Page Top

#14 On a personal note, I was the last plane tooth out at my dentist the other day, and I haven't heard "Wreck of the Old 97" since. Yay.
Posted by Don Vito Gurly-Brown4692 2020-04-02 15:00||   2020-04-02 15:00|| Front Page Top

#15 Lucky there was TWO chain linked fences there to contain it.
Posted by bbrewer126  2020-04-02 15:25||   2020-04-02 15:25|| Front Page Top

#16 there were lots of flares off SD Tuesday evening

Could be Earthquake Light
See Idaho, 6.5
Posted by Skidmark 2020-04-02 15:49||   2020-04-02 15:49|| Front Page Top

#17 ^ Bring it on, sez I. Might as well happen while I'm here to see it and as prepped as I'll ever be. Sadly, though, I'm now leaning toward teh "distress signals from indisposed sailors" theory.
Posted by Don Vito Gurly-Brown4692 2020-04-02 19:15||   2020-04-02 19:15|| Front Page Top

#18 I live in east SD county, so never saw them, especially with the low cloud cover
Posted by Frank G 2020-04-02 20:07||   2020-04-02 20:07|| Front Page Top

#19 The submarine that destroyed a train...
Posted by James  2020-04-02 23:26|| https://idontknowbut.blogspot.com  2020-04-02 23:26|| Front Page Top

#20 Re #18, you didn't miss a thing, boss. Just flares. Training? Smugglers? No clue.
Posted by Don Vito Gurly-Brown4692 2020-04-02 23:50||   2020-04-02 23:50|| Front Page Top

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