Driver of truck hit by California train released from custody

[February 27, 2015]  By Dana Feldman
 
 VENTURA, Calif. (Reuters) - A driver who was taken into custody after his truck was hit by a Southern California commuter train in a fiery wreck that injured 50 people was released on Thursday after prosecutors declined to file criminal charges, inmate records showed.

Jose Alejandro Sanchez-Ramirez, 54, was arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run after police said they found him walking and talking on a cell phone "in distress" more than a mile from the scene of Tuesday's destruction in Oxnard, California.

Oxnard police have said Sanchez-Ramirez was taken into custody for leaving the scene of the crash and that they were investigating whether drugs and alcohol were a factor. He was scheduled for an initial court appearance on Thursday.

But Ventura County Prosecutors, in announcing that no charges would be filed against the driver for now, said the investigation was complex and involved numerous local and federal agencies.

"The district attorney must await the completion of this investigation before making a formal filing decision," the office said in a written statement.
 

"While charges will not be filed at this time, the arrest of Jose Alejandro Sanchez-Ramirez by the Oxnard Police Department was clearly appropriate and lawful," prosecutors said.

Online inmate records from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office showed on Thursday night that Sanchez-Ramirez had been released from custody.

The crash in Oxnard flipped over three double-decker Metrolink rail cars, derailed two others and tore apart the Ford pickup that authorities said Sanchez-Ramirez had driven 80 feet (24 meters) onto the railroad tracks after making a wrong turn in the pre-dawn darkness.

Three people remain in critical condition, including the train's operator.

"My father and the rest of my family are praying for everyone's speedy recovery and our concerns and thoughts are with the victims of the accident," Sanchez-Ramirez's son, Daniel, told a news conference.

The driver's attorney, Ron Bamieh, has described the crash as an accident and said on Thursday that his client had been confused and mistakenly turned onto the tracks instead of a nearby street. He said Sanchez-Ramirez left the scene trying to look for help.

The crossing was a known transportation hazard and the scene of a fatal accident as recently as last year, raising questions about why an overpass had not been built there.

National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said on Thursday that crossing signals were working properly at the time of the crash and that the train horn sounded 12 seconds before impact. He said the train's emergency brakes were applied eight seconds before impact.

(Additional reporting and writing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by James Dalgleish and Cynthia Osterman)

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