Engineer dies from injuries suffered in California commuter train crash

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – An engineer died Tuesday after being injured last week when a California commuter train smashed into a truck on the tracks and derailed, officials said.

Glenn Steele, 62, died at a hospital in Los Angeles, where he was transported after the crash, according to Ed Winter, assistant chief of the coroner’s office.

The train derailed on Feb. 24 when it struck a heavy pickup truck and trailer that had been abandoned on the tracks in Oxnard, about 65 miles (104 kilometres) northwest of Los Angeles. Steele had been among some 30 people injured.

Steele was the senior engineer on the Metrolink train and the longest-serving engineer at the Southern California commuter train network, Metrolink spokesman Scott Johnson said.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation by numerous agencies.

The pickup driver, Jose Alejandro Sanchez-Ramirez, was initially arrested but was subsequently released without charges being immediately filed.

Oxnard police Assistant Chief Jason Benites said Steele’s death changes the nature of the investigation and opens up the potential for a vehicular manslaughter charge.