Two of three people who may have fallen asleep on the tracks were killed by a Metrolink train today in South Orange County, according to transit and sheriff’s officials.
Train number 603 was northbound from Oceanside when it hit the three at 6:06 a.m. at Alicia Parkway and Via Fabricante, sheriff’s Lt. Jim England said.
A 22-year-old Mission Viejo man and a woman died at the scene, and a 27-year-old Santa Ana woman suffered arm and leg injuries, sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said.
It was the survivor who called 911 at 6:14 a.m., said Metrolink spokeswoman Angie Starr. The 67 passengers on the train were unhurt, she said. The survivor, whose name was withheld, told authorities that they did not hear the train, Amormino said.
The train was in push mode, with the engine in the rear, which may have made it harder to hear it approaching. It was unclear how fast the train was going, but the speed limit in the area is 90 mph.
The two women became friends through the Facebook social networking site about a week ago, Amormino said.
“They decided to go out last night and they met at Proof in Santa Ana,” Amormino said. “It was only a meeting place. There’s no evidence to say they stayed and drank there.”
After meeting at proof, the survivor and the other woman and her male friend, who may have been her boyfriend, all drove to Laguna Beach, where they walked around on the beach for awhile, Amormino said.
At some point, the female victim said she had a friend in Mission Viejo and they could hang out at his house, Amormino said. But the trio was unable to reach the friend, so they went to a strip mall at Alicia Parkway and Via Fabricante, parked the car and went over to the train tracks, he said.
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“The train was in push mode, with the engine in the rear, which may have made it harder to hear it approaching”
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The fact that it was in push mode has little or nothing to do with how much sound it makes when approaching.