LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- The victims of the 2008 Metrolink train disaster in Chatsworth are being remembered with at least two ceremonies, including one declaring Monday "Don't Text and Drive Day."
A gathering was scheduled at the Simi Valley Metrolink station to honor the victims.
In Palmdale, city officials planned to declare Monday "Don't Text and Drive Day" in memory of 18-year-old Jacob Hefter, who was among the 25 victims of the September 12, 2008 crash.
Another 135 were injured -- 46 critically -- when the commuter train crashed head-on with a Union Pacific freight train. Authorities said Metrolink's engineer, 46-year-old Robert Sanchez, had been texting teenage train enthusiasts in the minutes leading up to the collision.
Sanchez had ignored at least one red signal and failed to apply the brakes on Metrolink 111, which was carrying 222 passengers from downtown's Union Station to Moorpark. He was also killed in the collision.
Hefter was heading home to Palmdale from Cal State University Long Beach at the time of the crash.
His family has set up "The Jacob Hefter Foundation," which aims to "support the community and raise awareness of positive choices and promote healthy lifestyles for young adults," according to its website.
The crash marked Metrolink's deadliest and the worst in the country in 15 years.
The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 quickly resulted, setting reasonable deadlines for the implementation of positive train control, or PTC.
PTC uses global positioning satellite technology to automatically override dangerous train movements, provide updated train locations and stop a locomotive if the crew is incapacitated.
Trains have until December 31, 2015 to implement PTC. Union Pacific has indicated it will do so by 2012.
Metrolink officials have reportedly installed video cameras on its locomotives aimed at preventing engineers from using cell phones or anything of the such while operating the train.
Metrolink also planned to activate an "automatic train stop" system that will slow down the train if the engineer fails to acknowledge signals.
A gathering was scheduled at the Simi Valley Metrolink station to honor the victims.
In Palmdale, city officials planned to declare Monday "Don't Text and Drive Day" in memory of 18-year-old Jacob Hefter, who was among the 25 victims of the September 12, 2008 crash.
Another 135 were injured -- 46 critically -- when the commuter train crashed head-on with a Union Pacific freight train. Authorities said Metrolink's engineer, 46-year-old Robert Sanchez, had been texting teenage train enthusiasts in the minutes leading up to the collision.
Sanchez had ignored at least one red signal and failed to apply the brakes on Metrolink 111, which was carrying 222 passengers from downtown's Union Station to Moorpark. He was also killed in the collision.
Hefter was heading home to Palmdale from Cal State University Long Beach at the time of the crash.
His family has set up "The Jacob Hefter Foundation," which aims to "support the community and raise awareness of positive choices and promote healthy lifestyles for young adults," according to its website.
The crash marked Metrolink's deadliest and the worst in the country in 15 years.
The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 quickly resulted, setting reasonable deadlines for the implementation of positive train control, or PTC.
PTC uses global positioning satellite technology to automatically override dangerous train movements, provide updated train locations and stop a locomotive if the crew is incapacitated.
Trains have until December 31, 2015 to implement PTC. Union Pacific has indicated it will do so by 2012.
Metrolink officials have reportedly installed video cameras on its locomotives aimed at preventing engineers from using cell phones or anything of the such while operating the train.
Metrolink also planned to activate an "automatic train stop" system that will slow down the train if the engineer fails to acknowledge signals.
