Breaking News Train Wrecking: Domestic Terrorism against the USNS Mercy

[Deleted member]

Just when you thought 2020 couldn't get to be more of a flooded out dumpster fire.

SAN PEDRO, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An engineer deliberately ran a train off the tracks at high speed near the Port of Los Angeles in an attempt to crash into and damage the USNS Mercy hospital ship, prosecutors say.

The Pacific Harbor Line train derailed Tuesday, running through the end of the track and crashing through barriers, finally coming to rest about 250 yards from the docked naval ship.


Federal prosecutors allege train engineer Eduardo Moreno, 44, of San Pedro intended to hit the ship, saying he thought it was "suspicious" and did not believe "the ship is what they say it's for.'"

The train crashed into a concrete barrier at the end of the track, smashed through a steel barrier and a chain-link fence, slid through one parking lot and then a second lot filled with gravel and hit a second chain-link fence. It came to rest after passing under a ramp leading to the Vincent Thomas Bridge. The train remained in that position Wednesday.

No one was injured in the derailment, but the train leaked fuel that required a hazmat response.




Authorities say Moreno admitted to crashing the train intentionally, but said he did not plan in out in advance. It is believed that he acted alone.


He allegedly made statements to a CHP officer that included "You only get this chance once. The whole world is watching. I had to. People don't know what's going on here. Now they will."

Officials say video from inside the train's cab shows Moreno holding a lighted flare during the incident.

Moreno has been charged with one count of train wrecking, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

The Mercy arrived at the Port of Los Angeles this weekend. The Navy hospital ship was brought in to handle non-coronavirus patients, to help ease the burden of local hospitals that are surging with COVID-19 cases. The ship has about 1,000 hospital beds, with some 800 active-duty doctors, nurses and medical staff on board. It is expected to stay in Los Angeles at least until September or until it is no longer needed.

Nice that we get to use a classic Old Wild West Law for this, though.

 

[Emperor Tippy]

I really do wonder about the mindset that conceives of it being a good idea to try and crash a train into a hospital ship.

 

[Duke Nukem]

Lol fuck 2012, 2020 is the real year everything is going to shit.

 

[CarlManvers2019]

This guy is a real moron, also thanks to him, who knows how much trouble that train is gonna get alongside other railways for transportation of goods and people

 

[Bacle]

This is a special type of stupid and dangerous.

 

[Deleted member]

The Engineer seemed to think that the hospital ship is being used to process people into food for the Lizard Men or something of that sort.

 

[Duke Nukem]

This year is so Surreal, it feels more like a movie than real life.

 

[Deleted member]

I really do wonder about the mindset that conceives of it being a good idea to try and crash a train into a hospital ship.

Well, he did understand that there's nothing stopping a train from continuing to go forward when it leaves the rails, the problem is that, as you can clearly see in the photo, a train is so heavy that it punched clean through the parking lot paving material and basically turned it into a runaway truck ramp, which slowed it to a stop. There was an interesting case of a town in Canada that had electricity shortages so they moved an AC diesel-electric locomotive down the road to where it could be plugged in to provide power--it worked quite well driving down the street under its own power, but it cracked the pavement just like this one did. He was still 250 yards away when he was brought to a stop... I wonder how far away from the ship he actually left the rails.

 

[Senor Hortler]

I really do wonder about the mindset that conceives of it being a good idea to try and crash a train into a hospital ship.

He probably thought that no one would ever see it coming, which I mean is technically probably true; but only on the grounds that it's absolutely fucking mental.

 

[Emperor Tippy]

Well, he did understand that there's nothing stopping a train from continuing to go forward when it leaves the rails, the problem is that, as you can clearly see in the photo, a train is so heavy that it punched clean through the parking lot paving material and basically turned it into a runaway truck ramp, which slowed it to a stop. There was an interesting case of a town in Canada that had electricity shortages so they moved an AC diesel-electric locomotive down the road to where it could be plugged in to provide power--it worked quite well driving down the street under its own power, but it cracked the pavement just like this one did. He was still 250 yards away when he was brought to a stop... I wonder how far away from the ship he actually left the rails.

Sure, but I can't imagine that the tracks actually ran close enough to the pier the ship was docked at to make that viable.

 

[prinCZess]

Oh. Great. I just know there's going to be a country song written about this.

Good Morning, Los Angeles, how are you?
Singing 'don't you know me? I'm your batshit-crazy son?'
That "hospital-ship" in the harbor I just know is being used for probin'
So I'mma ram this train into-it fore the day is done...

Good thing nobody was hurt (including this man with...very peculiar ideas about hospital-ships purposes) so I can feel better making this kind of comment. Guy sounds like he might need some psychological help.

Moreno has been charged with one count of train wrecking,

'Train wrecking' is, perhaps, the most cartoonish, Snidely Whiplash-style, mustache-twirling crime that I've ever heard of being on the books. I mean, I assume it's been there for a good, long time since the 1800s, but it's just such an odd crime to hear for the modern day when this stuff seems like it'd fall under...I dunnow, terrorism or reckless endangerment or attempted murder or the like...

On a completely random note unrelated to the train-wrecking, and one that might be cliche and silly just because it's exactly what the goal of naming them that way was...But, whatever, can I just say I really like that the US's hospital-ships are named 'Comfort' and 'Mercy'? Gets me all blubbery inside just thinking about it.

 

[Deleted member]

Sure, but I can't imagine that the tracks actually ran close enough to the pier the ship was docked at to make that viable.

Actually, the ship is at the San Pedro, Los Angeles cruise terminal, which means there is a freight line which terminates 350 yards away to the northwest, meaning he made it about 100 yards off the tracks toward the ship. Location of the ship's bow is about 33°44'53.17"N, 118°16'40.62"W.

 

[Tiamat]

So, in other words, this lunatic (and that's being polite, I would say he's batshit insane) quite literally went off the rails.

Too soon?

 

[Tzeentchean Perspective]

What a dolt. An engineer, being familiar with the train, probably should've known that he wasn't going to succeed in that attempt. You not only failed to expose anything, you caused massive property damage.
Unless this is a false flag or some shit, who knows?

 

[Deleted member]

On a completely random note unrelated to the train-wrecking, and one that might be cliche and silly just because it's exactly what the goal of naming them that way was...But, whatever, can I just say I really like that the US's hospital-ships are named 'Comfort' and 'Mercy'? Gets me all blubbery inside just thinking about it.

They are pretty much perfect names, aren't they? Two angels, dressed in white.

 

[CarlManvers2019]

They are pretty much perfect names, aren't they? Two angels, dressed in white.

Stop giving guys who make anime shipgirls ideas

 

[PsihoKekec]

At first I wondered how retarded one must be to try to cover that distance with a train, but if he was crazy enough to believe the ship was a floating soylent green factory, I'd say his train of thought left the rails long time ago.

 

[Knowledgeispower]

Speaking of the navy's hospital ships let's hope all the postive press they are getting will persuade Congress to fund their replacements soon as the hulls are from the 70s and they were converted in the 80s and thus needless to say are getting rather old and thus costly to maintain at five day alert status especially since they are steam powered. That and they are too big for most missions(with this current one being the very rare exception) and their layout isn't the best what with being converted Oil tankers.