Engineer derails train near Mercy

A train engineer faces federal charges after allegedly running a train "at full speed off the end of rail tracks" within 250 yards of the Port of Los Angeles-moored Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy. Eduardo Moreno, 44, of San Pedro was charged April 1 a single count of train wrecking after the March 31 incident, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. Moreno told police he believed Mercy – in SoCal to assist area hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic - had "an alternate purpose related to COVID-19 or a government takeover," according to DOJ. Moreno told law enforcement officers he "intentionally derailed and crashed the train” near the hospital ship. The train Moreno was conducting crashed through several barriers and came to a rest nearly 250 yards from the Mercy, according to the DOJ statement. No one was injured. (Source: USA TODAY o4/02/20)