Tragedy struck the Lake Balboa neighborhood of Los Angeles on Monday evening as two pedestrians were fatally injured by a Metrolink train. Authorities responded to the scene at the intersection of Roscoe and Balboa Boulevards following a call to the L.A. Police Department at 6:13 p.m., which detailed the horrific event. The L.A. City Fire Department crews found one female and one male victim who were pronounced dead at the location, as clarified by LAPD to KTLA.
There was initial confusion regarding the victims' genders as the LAFD ALERT described both victims as female; however, the LAPD later stated that one was a female and one was a male, the victims’ ages and identities have not been confirmed as of yet officials had not confirmed this information as of Monday night. Adding to the sense of chaos were unverified reports on Citizen.com that suggested both victims were adults, but no official confirmation had come forth by 8:30 p.m. on the day of the incident.
Passengers aboard the train, numbering around 200 according to the Citizen.com footage, were unharmed during the fatal collision. The aftermath saw crews setting up a canopy over the site of the incident while the victims lay covered under a white sheet. Initially, passengers were left unclear about the reasons behind the unexpected halt of their journey. As one passenger recounted to KTLA, they were initially told that the stoppage was due to a passenger opening an emergency door unauthorized but it was soon made clear that the train had hit pedestrians.
“They kept us on the train for a while so that they could tell us exactly what to do because it was a sudden event, and then they finally said ‘You have to go,'” a passenger told KTLA, emphasizing the shock among those onboard and the disruption their travel plans inevitably faced. Meanwhile, the LAFD has deferred all inquiries pertaining to the incident to the LAPD, Metrolink, and the L.A. County Department of the Medical Examiner for further investigation and official statements.
