Chatsworth residents are planning a candlelight vigil tonight to honor the victims, survivors and rescue workers of the Metrolink crash that killed 25 people and injured 135 one week ago.
The service at the Chatsworth train station is being organized by two local teenagers, Haley Giz, 15, and Kristen Kiertzner, 17, said Judy Daniels, president of the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council.
"The two teens wanted to acknowledge not only the people who died but all those on the train at the time," Daniels said. "They just wanted a chance for the community to have some closure and to acknowledge all of the people involved."
The girls decorated several hundred tea lights that they will hand out to participants to recognize the survivors of the crash -- which occurred just steps away from some residents' homes -- and special candles representing each of those who died, Daniels said.
The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m. at 10046 Old Depot Plaza Road.
One of those who died in the accident was engineer Robert M. Sanchez, who had been sending and receiving text messages while on duty last Friday, the day his passenger train collided head-on with a Union Pacific freight train in the worst California train disaster in 50 years.
The state Public Utilities Commission voted Thursday to impose a ban on wireless devices for rail crews, not only because of the Metrolink crash but in response to earlier crashes this summer in California in which cellphone use may have been a factor.
The commission voted unanimously to bypass normal procedures and impose an immediate ban on the use of wireless devices by train engineers, conductors and brakemen while on duty. The only exception would be in emergencies, after a train has stopped and permission has been received from superiors.
"It's extremely unfortunate that it took this terrible Metrolink tragedy to focus our attention on this very serious issue," said Commissioner Rachelle B. Chong.
The commission's concern arose in June when a San Francisco Municipal Railway train ran a light and hit a stopped train, injuring 16 people, said Richard Clark, director of the commission's division that oversees rail safety. Then in July, a track worker was killed in Sacramento.
Members of the commission, which shares some railroad oversight and accident investigation responsibilities with the federal government, said they want their agency to step up rail safety efforts.
