LOS ANGELES 鈥� A train engineer intentionally drove a speeding locomotive off a track at the Port of Los Angeles because he was suspicious about the presence of a Navy hospital ship docked there to help during the coronovirus crisis, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
The locomotive crashed through a series of barriers and fences before coming to rest more than 250 yards (230
Nobody was hurt.
Eduardo Moreno, 44, was charged with one count of train wrecking, prosecutors said. It wasn't immediately known if he has an attorney.
Moreno acknowledged in two separate interviews with law enforcement that he intentionally derailed and crashed the train near the Mercy, according to the criminal complaint.
鈥淵ou only get this chance once. The whole world is watching. I had to," Moreno told investigators, according to the complaint. "People don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going on here. Now they will.鈥�
Moreno said he was suspicious of the Mercy and believed it had an alternate purpose related to COVID-19 or a government takeover, an affidavit states. Moreno stated that he acted alone and had not pre-planned the attempted attack.
In an interview with FBI agents, Moreno stated that 鈥渉e did it out of the desire to 鈥榳ake people up,鈥欌�� according to an affidavit.
鈥淢oreno stated that he thought that the USNS Mercy was suspicious and did not believe 鈥榯he ship is what they say it鈥檚 for,'" the complaint said.
The Mercy arrived in port this week to provide a thousand hospital beds for non-coronavirus cases to take the load of regional medical
Cell phone video showed the locomotive upright in a patch of dirt. It apparently smashed through a concrete barrier at the end of the track, slid across pavement and gravel, and hit a chain-link fence before coming to a rest.
Phillip Sanfield, spokesman for the Port of Los Angeles, said the locomotive never came close to the Mercy.
鈥淚t would have had to have gone several hundred yards through a parking lot and cross a water channel to reach the ship,鈥� Sanfield said. 鈥� The tracks are nowhere near the Mercy.鈥�
The engineer wasn鈥檛 a port employee but apparently was working for Pacific Harbor Line Inc., a train company that handles cargo in the port and connects to major railroad lines, Sanfield said. The company didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
A small fuel leak was quickly controlled and port operations weren鈥檛 seriously affected, Sanfield said.
Moreno was arrested by a California Highway Patrol officer who witnessed the crash and captured him as he fled the scene. The FBI鈥檚 Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Port of Los Angeles Police are now leading the investigation.
The CHP officer reported seeing 鈥渢he train smash into a concrete barrier at the end of the track, smash into a steel barrier, smash into a chain-link fence, slide through a parking lot, slide across another lot filled with gravel, and smash into a second chain-link fence,鈥� according to an affadavit.
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Associated Press writer Robert Jablon in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Christopher Weber, The Associated Press
