Tacoma man charged with felony for oil-train car derailment on Tideflats
Pierce County prosecutors have filed charges against a 65-year-old Tacoma man accused of causing an oil-train car to derail Tuesday morning in the Tideflats industrial area.
The defendant was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with malicious injury to railroad property, a felony. The incident caused one BNSF railway train car to derail, a spokesperson for the railroad company said in an emailed statement. The car stayed upright, and there was no oil spill.
Tacoma Police Department said the man was arrested shortly after the derailment.
He was to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon.
Court records indicate that the defendant has a history of mental health issues. A psychological evaluation conducted after he was accused in 2018 of assaulting a person working at the Rialto Theater reported that the man was first diagnosed with Schizophrenia in 1980 and has been hospitalized at least 10 times. Court records show he has criminal history in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Ohio and Illinois.
The News Tribune typically does not name defendants in non-violent crimes. While his charges technically are violent and his actions had the potential to cause harm, the TNT isn’t naming him in this instance due to his ongoing history with mental illness.
According to charging documents, the conductor for the train that derailed told police that the train stopped as it was crossing Milwaukee Avenue. He reported the emergency braking system had been activated, so he was walking the length of the train to find out why.
In the area where west-east tracks intersect with north-south tracks, the conductor saw the defendant trying to activate the track switching system by moving a large lever back and forth, according to the declaration for determination of probable cause. The conductor reportedly yelled at the man to stop, and he began to walk away.
The conductor then discovered that a tanker rail car had gone off the tracks. Records state he told police the derailment happened because a track switching device had been activated, changing the direction of the tracks mid-span of the train.
Port and rail workers followed the defendant until he was detained, records state.
