Truck Driver In Fatal 2015 Metrolink Crash Charged With Manslaughter

OXNARD (CBSLA.com) — A man was charged with vehicular manslaughter on Monday for allegedly abandoning a pickup truck on Metrolink tracks in Oxnard, causing the train to collide with the truck and derail, killing the train's conductor.

Jose Alejandro Sanchez-Ramirez is accused of driving onto the railroad tracks at about 5:30 am on Feb. 24, 2015, after traveling from Arizona.

Sanchez-Ramirez was towing a trailer on the tracks until it became immobilized, the Ventura County District Attorney's office said. He did not notify authorities of the obstruction to oncoming trains, the DA's office said.

The train's conductor, Glenn William Steele, was killed and 34 passengers were injured.

Sanchez-Ramirez is scheduled to be arraigned March 23.