Disaster on Chevy Chase

(Image from KNBC's website)

It wasn't easy getting out of Glendale this morning. Streets -- including main artery Los Feliz Blvd. -- were shut down after the massive Metrolink train collision.

We woke up to the sound of helicopters -- I at first figured the cops were trying to track someone down. It wasn't until I turned on the radio -- after leaving the house -- that I heard the news.

The accident occured after a man, Juan Manuel Alvarez, 26, decided to commit suicide by parking his Jeep Cherokee on the train tracks just off of Chevy Chase Blvd., right at the L.A./Glendale border.

Now here's the most insane part of it all: He then changed his mind and left the vehicle -- standing by to watch the ensuing mayhem. 10 people have died so far in the resulting chain-reaction crash, yet the one guy who actually woke up this morning wanting to die is still alive. Unbelievable.

The L.A. Times reports:

Police said they had taken a man into custody and he was expected to be charged with homicide in connection with the chain reaction of crashes that left train cars mangled and seared in Glendale near the Los Angeles border. Debris including seat cushions, bloody towels and luggage discarded by fleeing passengers littered the area.

A southbound commuter train heading to downtown Los Angeles hit the vehicle parked on the tracks, said Glendale Police Chief Randy G. Adams. The train then bounced into a Union Pacific freight train before crashing into a northbound Metrolink commuter train, officials said.

Officials described the incident as the worst rail disaster in recent memory.

The 6 a.m. crash set off minor fires and diesel fuel spills as rescuers rushed to the scene at San Fernando Road and Chevy Chase Drive. The area is near where Burbank, Glendale and Atwater Village in Los Angeles meet.

For those familiar with the area, the crash wound up right next to the huge Costco on Los Feliz Blvd. The store's parking lot was turned into a massive triage area. Los Feliz Blvd. is still closed, as is the on/off ramp from the Golden State Freeway.