mangled front coach. A number of casualties were treated near the scene, while some were airlifted to hospital. There are fears that the death toll will rise further. Los Angeles City Fire Captain John Virant described the scene as "total destruction". "It was chaos. The injuries are crushing," he was quoted as saying by the Los Angeles Times newspaper. Capt Virant said firefighters were trying to cut through train carriages to rescue the injured. "They are in there removing dead bodies that are lying on top of survivors," he said. The Union Pacific freight train was badly damaged in the accident. Officials say two people - the engineer and the conductor - were on board the train. "I heard a loud crash and I saw black smoke... somestrike. The employee that was most vocal and active
in pushing the union agenda caught my attention. He was
not the union steward, but when he spoke people listened,
management and hourly alike.
After some long negotiations, there was a good outcome for
both parties. I told the superintendent to watch the guy who
had been so vocal. I told him that he was clearly a leader and I
thought if he would move into management, he would be out-
standing. Over time, the superintendent convinced the guy to
move into supervision and I was right, he was outstanding as
a leader for a long time. He had the tools and the desire to be
a good leader and the superintendent was able to get him to
put those tools to work for the company as a whole.
The majority of