September 12, 2008: The Chatsworth Collision

September 12, 2008: The Los Angeles area’s deadliest public transportation accident occurs in Chatsworth, killing 25 people.

So badly dominated by cars, Los Angeles finally got a subway system, Los Angeles Metro Rail, in 1990; and a commuter rail system, Metrolink, in 1992. Contrary to what could have been expected, it proved rather popular.

At 4:22 PM, Pacific Time (7:22 Eastern), a Union Pacific Railroad freight train and a Metrolink train collided head-on in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Metrolink train ran through a red signal, and reached the the UP train's track. In addition to the 25 deaths, 135 people sustained non-lethal injuries.

The engineer, Robert M. Sanchez, was found to be distracted while driving. As he was one of the fatalities, he was not punished, beyond the ruination of his reputation. The crash remains the only fatal incident in the system's history.

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September 12, 2008 was a Friday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Tim Wakefield pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Manny Delcarmen pitched a perfect 9th.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Washington Nationals, 2-1 at Dolphin Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals, 12-5 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies, 7-2 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 5-2 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium).

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-3 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-0 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the McAfee Coliseum). Matt Harrison pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays were rained out at Yankee Stadium. The game was made up the next day as part of a doubleheader. The Rays won the opener, 7-1. James Shields pitched 8 shutout innings, while Mike Mussina, about to retire did not pitch well. The only Yankee run was a home run hit by Bobby Abreu in the 9th inning.

The Yankees won the nightcap, 6-5. Dámaso Marte was the winning pitcher, in relief of Sidney Ponson. Wilson Betemit hit a home run. Derek Jeter went 3-for-3. Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-3 with a walk and an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

* The New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves were rained out at Citi Field. The game was made up the next day as part of a doubleheader. The Braves won the 1st game, 3-2. The Mets led 2-0 after 7 innings, but blew it, as the Braves scored 3 runs in the 8th, first against the much-hyped newly-acquired pitcher Johan Santana, then against 4 relievers. That's right, the Mets needed 5 pitchers to hold the Braves to 3 runs in 1 inning.

The Mets won the 2nd game, 5-0. Jon Niese -- who was born on October 27, 1986, the night the Mets last won the World Series -- pitched 8 innings of 6-hit shutout ball, and Luis Ayala finished an 8-hit shutout. David Wright, José Reyes and Carlos Beltrán hit home runs.

* The Baltimore Orioles and the Minnesota Twins were rained out at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The game was made up the next day as part of a doubleheader. The Twins swept, 12-2 and 12-6.

* The Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers were rained out at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago. The game was made up 2 days later, as part of a doubleheader. The ChiSox swept, 4-2 and 11-7.

* The Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies were rained out at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The game was made up 2 days later, as part of a doubleheader. The Phils swept, 7-3 and 6-1.

* And the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros were supposed to play at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston, but Hurricane Ike led MLB to move the series to neutral ground. Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee was chosen, as the Brewers were on the road. The Astros, still officially the home team, batted 2nd. The Cubs won the game postponed from September 12, 5-0, on September 14. Carlos Zambrano pitched a no-hitter, walking 1 batter, striking out 10.

And in New Jersey high school football, my Alma Mater, East Brunswick, opened its season by losing to Sayreville, 28-7.