A somber holiday mood struck Covina on Christmas Day as a Metrolink train collided with and killed a pedestrian, leaving 51 passengers stranded for over four grueling hours. The incident occurred at 3:21 p.m. near Sunflower Avenue and left eastbound San Bernardino line 362 obstructed on steep terrain, complicating any immediate evacuation effort, KABC reported.
The passengers, initially on their way from Los Angeles to San Bernardino, ended up being stationary inmates of the halted train, unable to disembark due to safety concerns as the train had stopped on a precarious slope and snacks and water were doled out to somewhat ease their distress, not the first time a tragic event like this had occurred at the same spot in Covina according to some nearby residents, KTLA 5’s Shelby Nelson reported.
Chris Wright, a local, said, "We’ve been here about 11 years and they just had [a crash] a couple of weeks ago at the same location," he said, "Very sad to think that that would happen [especially] at this time of year." In the aftermath of the collision, Metrolink announced that three trains were delayed and a fourth canceled, causing further disarray amidst their scheduled service shutdown for a modernization project.
While those stranded were eventually able to resume their journey at around 7:30 p.m., the incident echoes a call for caution and conscientiousness, prompting an investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department as they seek to understand why the pedestrian was on the tracks, according to authorities.
