Monday, September 15, 2008

Dispatcher Tried to Warn Train Engineer

LOS ANGELES -- A dispatcher tried to warn the engineer of a commuter train that he was about to collide with a freight train, but the call came too late, rail officials investigating the crash that killed 25 people said Sunday.

The dispatcher reached the conductor in the rear of the train, not before it had already crashed into the oncoming Union Pacific engine at 40 mph, officials with the Metrolink commuter line said.

The engineer was killed in the accident, the nation's deadliest rail disaster in 15 years.

Metrolink said the engineer ran a red signal, but federal investigators said it could be a year before they determine a cause.

The National Transportation Safety Board said that it was looking into a report that the engineer may have been text-messaging around the time of the crash.

"We're going to look into that, anything that can help us find the cause of this accident," said NTSB spokesman Terry Williams.

Rescue crews recovered two data recorders from the Metrolink train and one data recorder and one video recorder from the freight train. The video has pictures from forward-facing cameras, and the data recorders have information on speed and braking patterns.

The video game publisher Electronic Arts said it has ended discussions with Take-Two Interactive and will not make a proposal to buy the company.

Take-Two, the company behind the best-selling "Grand Theft Auto" game series, is "actively engaged" in talks with other parties to consider "strategic alternatives," Chairman Strauss Zelnick said in a statement.

In February, Electronic Arts offered $2 billion for Take-Two, eventually taking its $25.74-a-share bid directly to shareholders. But it dropped the offer last month, after Take-Two offered to give a financial presentation to Electronic Arts as long as a confidentiality agreement was signed.

Electronic Arts stepped away from any deal Sunday after considering management presentations and other due-diligence materials provided by New York-based Take-Two, the Redwood City, Calif.-based company said.

-- From News Services