Conductor In Train Crash Was Texting On DutyConductor In Train Crash Was Texting On Duty

The engineer of a Los Angeles-area commuter train that crashed and killed 25 people Friday was sending SMS messages while on duty, according to officials.

The National Transportation Safety Board examined cell phone records after two 14-year-old boys said they had received text messages from the engineer moments before the commuter train sped through a red light and crashed into an oncoming freight train.

The Verizon Wireless records showed that the engineer, Robert Sanchez, was texting while on duty, but the safety board has not concluded if Sanchez was receiving texts at or near the time of the crash.

"The Safety Board will correlate those records with other investigative information to determine as precisely as possible the exact times of those messages in relation to the engineer's operation of his train," the board said in a statement Wednesday.

The collision occurred Friday afternoon when a Metrolink commuter train collided with a Union Pacific freight train just north of Los Angeles. Along with the fatalities, 134 people were injured.

Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, said Monday he would seek an emergency order that prohibits using a cell phone while operating a train in California. There is no federal regulation regarding mobile phone use by train engineers, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, but many companies prohibit use.

Additionally, Peevey said he would ask the Federal Railroad Administration to require automatic train stop systems on all passenger and freight trains in the state. This breaking system automatically stops the train when required at signals.

This story was edited on Sept. 18 to correctly identify Robert Sanchez as the engineer.