By A freshman at Cal State Long Beach was killed in Friday’s Metrolink crash in Chatsworth, Calif.
Jacob Hefter, a physical therapy major, was on his way to visit his girlfriend in Moorpark when the train he was riding on collided with a Union Pacific freight train, according to an article from The Associated Press.
He had just sent his girlfriend a text message three minutes earlier saying he would be arriving soon.
Hefter’s family received the news of his death Saturday afternoon.
While working a 12-hour shift at a hospital as part of his student-mandated clinical time, his older brother, Jared Hefter, received a call telling him to go home, where he met with relatives before going to the crash site.
Jared and his family arrived at the site around 5:30 p.m. Jared was able to get within 100 yards of the crash site before being turned away because of his hospital scrubs. He said he and his family tried to get as close as possible.
At 8 p.m., the family was moved to Chatsworth High School to wait with other families and friends of crash victims and survivors.
Jared said that everyone at the high school, including authorities and the Red Cross, was helpful.
“Everything was provided for you except for information,” Jared said. “Which they didn’t have.”
Jared and his family spent the night at Chatsworth High School, waiting to hear about Jacob.
“It was just a waiting game,” Jared said. “It was just a matter of waiting.”
A deputy requested a photograph of Jacob, and, according to Jared, a phone call came back within an hour — Jacob’s body had been identified. The family spent a total of 20 hours between the crash site and Chatsworth High School.
The Metrolink train had left from downtown Los Angeles heading toward Ventura County. According to an LA Times article, the engineer failed to stop at a red light, which caused the commuter train to run into the freight train. Both were derailed.
Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrell told the press that Metrolink had quickly blamed the engineer — who died in the crash — for the wreck because it was trying to be honest with the public.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigators were still at the crash site on Sunday examining the wreckage since new details about the accident emerged. According to the LA Times, a Metrolink dispatcher attempted to warn the engineer that he was about to collide with a freight train.
Twenty-four people died at the scene of the crash and one more died in the hospital, bringing the total death toll to 25 as of Sunday. At least 135 other people were injured — at least 40 of them critically, according to the AP article.
According to an LA Times article, this crash makes Metrolink’s fatality rate one of the worst in the nation.
Tiffany Rider contributed to this report.
