Train crash causes call for ban on engineer phone use

A collision between an Orange County, California Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train is thought to have been caused by an inattentive train engineer who is being accused of using his cell phone for text messaging while driving the train. The engineer appears to have missed a red light track signal and mistakenly proceeded forward on a section of track that was not clear, eventually leading to a head-on collision with a freight train that killed 25 people and injured 138, making it the deadliest rail collision in the U.S. in 15 years.

As a result, California's top rail safety regulator is looking to implement an emergency order that would ban engineers from using cell phones while at the controls of a train.

It should be noted that no cell phone belonging to the engineer has been found in the wreckage at this time, and authorities are still waiting for Verizon Wireless, the engineer's carrier, to provide call records from the time of the accident. You can read more about the story in the full Associated Press story.