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Updated April 2nd, 2020 at 07:09 IST

Feds: Man intentionally derailed LA train near hospital ship

 A train engineer intentionally drove a speeding locomotive off a track at the Port of Los Angeles because he was suspicious about the presence of a Navy hospital ship docked there amid the coronavirus crisis, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

Feds: Man intentionally derailed LA train near hospital ship
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A train engineer intentionally drove a speeding locomotive off a track at the Port of Los Angeles because he was suspicious about the presence of a Navy hospital ship docked there amid the coronavirus crisis, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

The locomotive crashed through a series of barriers and fences before coming to rest more than 250 yards (228 meters) from the U.S. Navy Hospital Ship Mercy on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a release.

Nobody was hurt.

Eduardo Moreno, 44, was charged with one count of train wrecking, prosecutors said. It wasn’t immediately known if he has an attorney.

“You only get this chance once. The whole world is watching. I had to,” Moreno told police, according to prosecutors. “People don’t know what’s going on here. Now they will.”

The Mercy arrived in port this week to provide a thousand hospital beds to take the load of regional medical centers expecting a surge of COVID-19 patients.

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Published April 2nd, 2020 at 07:07 IST

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