of parole. Investigation A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) team investigated the crash, assisted by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen's (BLET) Safety Task Force. The Glendale Police Department led the criminal investigation, assisted by the Union Pacific Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and the criminal case was tried in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The southbound Metrolink train (#100) struck the parked Jeep that had been driven by Álvarez onto the tracks at the Chevy Chase Drive grade crossing just west of San Fernando Road, pushing the Jeep southward along the track towards the Los Feliz Boulevard undercrossing until automotive parts struck a track switch and became lodged under the leading car of the Metrolink train, raising it up and causing the train to derail. Cars from the derailed train jackknifed, hitting both the locomotive of the stationary Union Pacific freight train and sideswiping the rear of the passing northbound #901 Metrolink passenger train. This caused the rear cars of the northbound train to derail, and at least one car rolled over onto its side. A fire, involving one or more passenger cars, was caused by spilled diesel fuel. The root cause of the accident was attributed to the driver of the automobile, Juan Manuel Álvarez of Compton, who deliberately drove onto, and left his vehicle on, the tracks while allegedly attempting to commit suicide. Having slashed his wrists and stabbed himself repeatedly in the chest, he parked his car on the tracks to finish the attempt. However, Álvarez changed his mind and attempted to leave the tracks. Because he was unable to dislodge his vehicle from the rain-soaked gravel and slick rails, he abandoned the vehicle moments before the crowded southbound train approached. Both this causation and the end result have many similarities to that of the Ufton Nervet rail crash in the United Kingdom, which occurred only three months previously, although in that case the driver of the car stayed in the vehicle and was killed. Early rumors of the incident being a terrorist attack were dismissed, as no connections to any terrorist organization existed with the suspect. Reaction The wreck caused intense attention to the train configuration. Many commuter trains are pushed from the back by the locomotive in a push-pull configuration, including Metrolink trains returning to Union Station. In this configuration, the first car is a cab car. The push-pull